First Foot Forward

Owner and winemaker Martin Siebert's daytime job is at Tokar Estate, where he has been chief winemaker for a number of years. In 2013 he had the opportunity to purchase pinot noir and chardonnay from a mature vineyard in The Patch - high in the Dandenong Ranges on the southern edge of the Yarra Valley. It is cooler and wetter than the floor of the Yarra Valley, so much so that the fruit is consistently picked after Tokar's cabernet sauvignon, reducing the stress that might otherwise have occurred. He says that so long as the fruit is available, he will be purchasing it, adding other wines from the Yarra Valley broaden the offer to quality-focused restaurants and specialty wine stores around Melbourne.