The Kooyong estate was established in 1995 by the Alyward family on the cool, ocean-influenced Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the Port Philip Estate, where all the wines are made with state-of-the-art equipment and eco-friendly practices. In 2004 the property was sold to Giorgio and Diana Gjergja, who also own the Port Phillip Estate. The cool climate and excellent location of the 20-hectare Kooyong vineyards make it ideal to grow varietals such as Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Winemaker Sandro Mosele makes expressive and site-specific wines in small volumes here. They specialise in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the wines are fresher than classic Australian styles. The fruit is sourced from three vineyards: Red Hill, planted in 1987, with 9ha of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and small plots of Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz; Tuerong, planted in 1996, 40ha of mostly Pinot Noir, a large amount of Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris; and Balnarring, planted 1997, with 12ha of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Great care is taken in the vineyard with canopy management to control vigour and crop thinning to increase fruit quality and concentration, and the grapes are hand harvested. Sustainability is a key objective and only natural fertilisers and ecologically acceptable pest and disease control practices are employed in the vineyards while water reclamation systems are in place to turn waste water into irrigation.
All fermentations are spontaneous, using only ambient yeasts, and the reds are unfiltered before bottling. Some whites are also bottled unfiltered, but all are unfined.
