FROM VINE
Forty years at Crittenden Estate Seeing the rows of established vines and impressive gardens at Crittenden Estate, and then tasting its award-winning wine in the recently renovated Wine Centre, there’s a feeling of effortlessness here that makes success look easy. But of course the Crittenden story starts like all good success stories: with a blank slate – or in this case an empty field – and a whole lot of commitment and hard work to bring a vision to life.
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If the cards had fallen differently, Crittenden Estate might have been a Tasmanian success story rather than a pioneer of the Mornington Peninsula wine region celebrating its 40th birthday. In the early ‘80s, Garry Crittenden, who then owned a plant nursery, took his family for a holiday to Tasmania and fell in love with pinot noir. “Dad had plans on shipping us down to Tassie to grow pinot, but Mum resisted,” says daughter Zoe. “Our extended family was here. Then Dad met Red Hill winemaker Nat White (founder of Main Ridge Estate) and realised he could grow the wines he wanted right here on the Peninsula.” In 1982 the Crittenden family planted 2ha of vines in Dromana, doubling the land under vine at that time on the Peninsula. When it came to growing grapes, Garry had his horticulture background to draw on, but winemaking he had to learn from scratch.
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