Municipal Wines

Owner and winemaker Matt Froude had the unlikely 10-year background of environmental engineer, tour guide and manager of English schools in Asia before returning to Australia in 2009 to study winemaking. Since 2010 he has managed to cram in winemaking at Yarra Yering (two vintages) and De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley, Argyle in Oregon, Craggy Range in Hawke's Bay, Pierre Gaillard in the northern Rhone Valley, Rioja in Spain and Yamanashi in Japan, finishing with Wine x Sam, where he is currently winemaker. He explains the rationale of Municipal Wines: cool climate winemaking of low-alcohol, food-friendly wines. He leases a pocket handkerchief 1.8ha vineyard of five varieties, and purchases another three. His viticulture is unique: he doesn't spray the vineyard at all (not even sulphur or copper) and only prunes the vines every second year. By contrast, the winemaking is conventional and sophisticated, the only quasi-exception that three of his wines are neither fined nor filtered. Given that all are grown and made in the Strathbogie Ranges, the name requires explanation: he plans to open a winery and cellar door in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. -JAMES HALLIDAY