Chalmers Heathcote Vineyard manager Troy McInnes has made it onto the shortlist for the Halliday Wine Awards.
Photo by
Djembe Archibald
When the Chalmers family hired Troy McInnes as vineyard manager at Heathcote, they knew what they were doing — he has been nominated as viticulturist of the year.
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It’s not the first time, either.
He was first nominated in the Halliday Wine Awards 2024, making this year his second time in the running.
“I’m up against seven others from across Australia.”
Appearing on the shortlist was a shock for him, as it happens through a nomination.
From who? He’s not quite sure. But either way, he’s grateful for it.
Mr McInnes has been in farming for as long as he can remember, and has been a part of the Chalmers vineyards since they were established in 2008.
He said he wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I’m very hands-on ... sitting in an office is not for me,” he said.
“I enjoy the diversity of different jobs that we have, from planting and harvesting and pruning.”
But a vineyard has its challenges.
The 26 varieties of grapes on the roughly 80 hectare Heathcote property come from the coldest parts of northern Italy, to the almost tropical parts of Sicily and everything in between.
“Climate is a big challenge,” Mr McInnes said.
“Every year is different. If it’s dry, we’ll have some varieties do better than if it was cold.
“We have a very broad range of wines that we do produce from reds, whites, we also do dessert wines, sparkling wines so it’s quite a big range.
“It’s a unique position I hold here, so to have that opportunity is pretty special.”
The Chalmers Heathcote Vineyard spans about 80ha and has 26 varieties of grape.
Photo by
Djembe Archibald
Before the Mildura-based Chalmers family bought the Heathcote vineyard 17 years ago, the property had previously been used for cereal cropping.
It has an east-facing sloped site comprised of the region’s red Cambrian soils.
The lower vineyard is deep, red clay-loam while the higher vineyard is complex rocky terrain of ironstone, dolerite, green basalt and jasper.
The first vines were planted in September 2009 with the inaugural Chalmers Heathcote wines produced from the 2011 vintage, coinciding with the launch of the Montevecchio range.
Parcels of fruit from this vineyard are also sold to 40 different winemakers, from garage operators to well-established businesses.
The other finalists for viticulturist of the year are: Chris Davies from Windows Estate, Colin McBryde from Adelina, Dylan Griggs, Irina Santiago-Brown and Dudley Brown of Inkwell, Stephen Sadlier and Tom Ward.
The winner will be announced on August 20 and are celebrated at a dinner, and although he can’t attend, Mr McInnes said he’ll be there in spirit.
Troy McInnes said he was “overwhelmed” when he received the nomination.
Photo by
Djembe Archibald
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