Buller View Wines

Pasquale ?Charlie? Orrico migrated from his native Calabria in 1956, establishing a successful commercial building enterprise in Melbourne. Childhood memories of winemaking on his grandfather?s vineyard remained with Charlie, and in 1982 he and his wife, Maria, purchased land near Mansfield with the intention of establishing a vineyard. This eventuated in 1996, with the planting of merlot (2ha) and cabernet sauvignon (0.8ha). Since 2002 the estate-grown fruit has been processed onsite. It has to be said that Charlie Orrico has gone where angels fear to tread by choosing to plant merlot and cabernet sauvignon, rather than earlier ripening varieties. -JAMES HALLIDAY