Once hand harvested with very careful sorting in the vineyard, the bunches were partially crushed by foot before being pressed firmly as whole clusters. Overnight settling then occurs, before transfer to a combination of new Stockinger 500L oak and stainless steel for fermentation and lees ageing for 14 months.

This is then followed by four months in stainless steel on fine lees, before racking and bottling, unfined and unfiltered. The only addition to the wine is a small dose of sulphur.

Planted in the early 80's, the site on Little River sits perched at over 400 metres along the Northern volcanic slopes of the Cathedral Range. It sits just outside of the Upper Yarra GI, though it's ripening occurs some three weeks later.

The high altitude, cool site and lean volcanic soils confer both concentration and freshness at low sugar levels.

George's leap from an accomplished sommelier to a committed winemaker, from the dining room to the vineyard, underlines a profound commitment to the craft of wine. His intent with Gum Wine – launched in 2022, is to make fresh and savoury styles of wine, that are suited to food. The endeavour is centred on a vineyard in the Yarra Valley, but is complemented by wines sourced from Heathcote and Macedon vineyards. All wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.