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.

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.

“Looking at the region now, it’s easy to think there are a lot of winemakers to ask for assistance,” says son Rollo. “But when Dad started out, he was one of only a few. Dad set about working out what worked for him and refined the process constantly with support from other early vignerons in the region.”

Garry and his wife Margaret raised Zoe and Rollo on the vineyard. The current Wine Centre was once the family home. Margaret was an integral part of establishing Crittenden Estate to what it is today before a disability in the last 10 years of her life meant she had to step back from daily involvement; she died in November 2020. “Mum was particularly passionate about food and her dream was always to serve food at the cellar door,” Zoe says. “Today that restaurant is the successful Stillwater at Crittenden, owned and operated by Zac Poulier, but back then it was Mum’s. She ran it for 11 years and people flocked here for Mum’s food. She would stay up late into the night making everything from scratch.”

In 2017 Zoe and Rollo took over the reins of the family business, Rollo in charge of winemaking and general management and Zoe taking care of marketing. “One thing I really love about what we do is how unified we are as a family business,” Rollo says. “You hear a lot of horror stories, but I do feel it’s been a really nice transition from one generation to another.”

Known for its quality cool-climate wines and Italian varietals, Crittenden Estate has consistently received awards and accolades in Australia and internationally. Highlights include being awarded five red stars from respected wine critic James Halliday, being named Mornington Peninsula’s Best Large Cellar Door in both 2021 and 2022 at the Gourmet Traveller Cellar Door Awards, and being named the platinum winner of the 2020 BRIT/FIVS International Sustainable Winegrowing competition.

When it comes to vineyard management, a lot’s changed at this Dromana site in 40 years. “There’s an understanding in the wine industry that the older the vine gets, the better the wine gets,” Rollo says. “And that’s certainly the case, but it has to be from a good environment. The soil is everything, and that’s been a hard-earned lesson for us.”

That lesson came 17 years ago when some investigation made it clear that conventional farming practices had taken their toll on the soil and ultimately the vines. This was the beginning of Crittenden’s commitment to sustainability and soil regeneration, starting with minimising the use of synthetic chemicals. Solar power, inter-row cropping, green mulching, and an impressive 400 cubic metre compost pile are all part of the change in direction.

Of Crittenden Estate’s future, Rollo says: “I always want us to be small and nimble and I never want to lose that. It’s really the key to our success; to be personally engaged with all our team and customers. I think there’s a point that you can grow to where you’re less hands-on, and I don’t want to do that. I would rather increase the quality than the quantity, and I think that’s another form of growth that’s more suited to our family.”

NIKKI FISHER