Established in 1984, Myrtaceae is a vineyard and winery situated in the Main Ridge area on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.
Myrtaceae remains the highest winery on the Peninsula, making it ideal for the production of limited quantities of high quality, cool climate, single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines.
The owners, John and Julie Trueman, are passionate Peninsula vintners who grow their grapes, produce their own wines and host Cellar Door visitors every weekend. The winery is nestled in a small picturesque valley and surrounded by every-growing gardens.
Meet the Winemakers
John & Julie Trueman own, manage and produce Myrtaceae - you’ll also find them at Cellar Door each weekend.
Julie is our winemaker and continues the quest to learn how to best let the grape express itself. When not in the winery she can be found managing the extensive surrounding gardens or hunting for Art Deco finds, many of which can be found at Cellar Door. John is responsible for managing the vineyard and production of grapes. He is the driving force behind the property's Land For Wildlife registration and the regeneration of the headwaters of Main Creek, which begins on the property and flows to Bushrangers Bay.
Viticulture & Winemaking
Myrtaceae’s vineyard covers 3.5 acres with a combined total of less than 5000 bottles produced per vintage across Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Rosé. John & Julie have always overseen the entire process, from planting through to bottling and aim to create wine reflective of the location and conditions.
The vineyard uses a Scott Henry trellis system, intervention with the vineyard is kept to a minimum and grapes are hand-picked over a series of vintage days in Autumn. The winemaking process too aims to let the fruit show itself. Our wine ferments in French Oak, both aged and new.
History
Established in 1984 by John & Julie, in the early 1990s Cabernet Sauvignon was planted however due to its high elevation the site proved to not be warm enough for this varietal.
The original vineyard was transformed in the mid 90s by mostly replanting with Pinot Noir and some grafting to Chardonnay. 1998 saw a further new vineyard planted with Chardonnay.
The first small vintage of Chardonnay was produced in 2000 and the first Pinot Noir in 2002. The wines have always been made on site and the Cellar Door opened to visitors in 2004.
It’s pronounced “mer - tay - see”
Most of the major indigenous tree species of the Hinterland region and the Peninsula belong to the Myrtaceae botanical family. This family comprises, among others, eucalypts, melaleucas and leptospermums.
It was a name that cropped up quite regularly when the property was being researched and reclaimed from its tangle of blackberries and other introduced weeds. It stuck.