THERE is more to Tahbilk Winery Estate than first meets the eye.
Located between Nagambie and Seymour, the vineyard was established back in 1860 by speculator Hugh Glass who purchased 640 acre Pre-Emptive Right of the Tahbilk run in 1856 for one pound an acre and then relocated the old Police Barracks (Melbourne) to the site of what is now the homestead.
A French exile, Ludovic Marie from Burgundy joined Glass who then befriended English poet Richard Horne, and also Andrew Sinclair from Noorilim Station nearby.
After laying out the homestead garden which included table grape vines, they realised that vines would grow well on the Goulburn.
In January 1860, Horne and Marie formed the Goulburn Vineyard Proprietary Company aiming to purchase Noorilim Station.
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Plans went awry when Sinclair went missing – his body found later at St Kilda - changing plans for Horne to relocate the proposed vineyard to the Tahbilk Run.
Marie was then joined by John Pinney Bear and together advertised for one million vine cuttings (receiving 600,000) and 150 acres of land was cleared with 65 acres of vines planted.
Tahbilk Winery's first vintage was produced in 1861.
Tahbilk’s vineyard and vintages continued to grow; the old cellars, stables and machinery sheds, workmen’s cottages and blacksmith were constructed.
In 1875 Bear achieved total ownership and control.
Hugh Glass had passed away when his empire collapsed due to drought, mortgaged assets, legal scandal and loss of political power.
In 1925, Tahbilk was purchased by Englishman Reginald Purbrick, and along with his son Eric, they inspected their acquisition – Eric destined to become a significant figure in Tahbilk’s history.
From 1931 Eric put all his energy into revitalising Tahbilk, cleaning cellars, modernising machinery and winemaking methods and even selling wine door-to-door.
Eric died in 1991 leaving his son, John and grandson, Alister to take over this prospering business.
In 1993 Tahbilk entered the Royal Melbourne and Sydney shows taking out prizes at both.
Tahbilk’s unique location led to an eco-tourism project – the Wetlands Café and Wildlife Reserve opening in 2005.
Today, the winery is not only an attraction for wine lovers but also for those interested in the environment.
It boasts six kilometres of wetland walking trails, the open door cellar every week and once a month a ‘farmer’s market’ is held in the courtyard.
The underground cellars were established in 1860 and are still in use today.
They have been open to the public for more than 30 years.
The original church, built on-site for the family and the estate’s workers has become a museum – a feature being a glass floor panel under which the original cellars can be viewed.
“Inside the estate was a township,” current manager Joanne Nash said.
“At one time the estate was a thriving community with workers, harvesters, winemakers and many more who also had with them their families, all living here , and even a cook,” Joanne said.
Just recently the cellar door held a ‘grand re-opening’ after being closed for renovations for five weeks.
“We didn’t actually close the cellar door, we moved it to the church - now a museum, which is open for people to walk into and view the history of the estate,” Joanne said.
“This is such a beautiful occasion with the farmer’s market here in the courtyard and we have opened the whole winery for people to see,” she said on opening day.
The market used to be held near the cottages, but in recent months has been moved to the estate's courtyard with a vision to grow the event and attract more stallholders.
“It encourages more people to come here – into the market and into the award winning winery,” Joanne said.
Eco-cruises have been introduced around the wetlands.
“There are so many things you can do on the estate - walking trails, take in the wetlands, taste a wine or two and on market days buy some of the special locally made produce.”
The Cellar Door is open every week with the market days held on the last Sunday of each month.
