Buttermans Track

I became intimately acquainted with Buttermans Track in the latter part of the ‘80s when Coldstream Hills purchased grapes from the Roberts family’s Rising Vineyard. I had to coax a 3t truck with almost no brakes and almost no engine to tackle the hills and valleys of the unsealed Buttermans Track. Louise and Gary Trist began planting a small vineyard in ’91 on a small side road just off the Buttermans Track. They established 0.86ha of pinot noir, 0.74ha of shiraz and 0.53ha of sangiovese. The Trist family sold the grapes to Yarra Valley wineries. From ‘08 onwards a small parcel of sangiovese was retained for the Buttermans Track label, which now includes other varieties, son Joel joining Gary in the winery. -JAMES HALLIDAY