Graeme
Miller, Winemaker
with
the 1978
Jimmy
Watson Trophy
Miller's Dixons Creek Estate
view
over dam
Cellar
Door views
Vineyard
view towards winery
Winery work
Bottling Line
Melbourne Food &
Wine Festival
Cellar Door Garden
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.
Winemaker & Viticulturist Graeme Miller
is one of the pioneers of the
1960s/70s rebirth of the
Yarra
Valley
as a wine
region. In 1971 he established Chateau
Yarrinya at Dixons Creek, which he sold to the
De Bortoli family in 1987. He began planting Dixons Creek Estate in
1988, a kilometre from his original site. Winner of the 1978 Jimmy Watson trophy, Graeme
made a return to winemaking at Dixons Creek Estate because
of his belief in regional difference and the
Yarra
Valley
as an excellent wine producing area.
Graeme built
the winery on the new site and finally opened cellar door there in 2005.
He is
working
to produce long lived wines, not dominated by alcohol, and which reflect
the subtle depth and complexity that the
Yarra
Valley
,
as a cool climate region, can produce.
 Shaun Crinion Assistant
Winemaker joined
Millers in January 2008. Shaun
completed his winemaking qualifications at
Charles
Sturt
University and has an impressively broad
experience in cool climate winemaking
.
Since graduating he has
worked
as Assistant Winemaker at Tasmanian wineries Pipers Brook and Bay of Fires, before relocating to the Yarra Valley where he gained
valuable cellar experience at Domaine Chandon. Shaun
has also completed vintages in West Australia at Houghton’s in the
Swan
Valley
and Devil’s Lair at
Margaret
River,
in
Queensland
at Barambah Ridge, as well as three overseas
vintages with Californian wineries: Laetitia in
Santa Barbara
,
Corbett
Canyon
on the
Californian
Central
Coast
and Williams Selyem in
Russian
River. Shaun
is passionate about his winemaking and is a valued addition to the
team.
Environment: Graemes interest in local history and Australian art and a love of their
environment and this is reflected in the cellar door, the surroundings and the
environmental practices in the winery and vineyard. In the sales area is an overview of the history of the
Yarra
Valley
wine industry and a
display of indigenous art, principally from the Central and
Western
Desert
areas. In partnership with Melbourne Water, Graeme has, over a number of years, extensively revegetated the
stream front of Dixons Creek where it flows
through the vineyard. They have landscaped around cellar door with native beds, including an
Eremophilia bed and an indigenous local species bed. In keeping with the
environmental focus, all winery waste water is redirected through
percolation to a large dam where it is recycled through a drip irrigation
system to the vineyard. Winery solid waste (stalks and marc) is
recycled to the vineyard to replenish the soil, with
some going to the cows on the property. All winery
packaging decisions are based on the recycling focus. Vineyard practices are
based on a committed sense of environmental stewardship.
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