Gippsland Wine Company

Mark Heath has worked in some big-name wine companies, mainly in sales and marketing. In ‘11, he and his wife, Jane Taylor, bought a run-down site in Loch Village. The appeal of Gippsland was the charm of a region full of owner-operators rather than large-scale businesses. With some hard work, it didn’t take long for the north-facing 1.2ha vineyard planted around 1999 to cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and chardonnay to come back to life. From day one, he secured local winemaker Marcus Satchwell (Dirty Three Wines) to make the wines. Today, Gippsland Wine Company leases 4 other vineyards within a 20km radius from Loch Village, planted to several varieties including riesling, pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and shiraz. -JANE FAULKNER