Brown Brothers

Brown Brothers is one of Australia’s leading family-owned wine companies. We have been making wine in Victoria for 125 years and while we have tradition we are not the traditional wine company. We are steeped in our family heritage and we have a history of innovation that inspires our future direction.

The business was founded in 1889 by John Francis Brown who, at the age of 18, established a vineyard at Milawa in north-east Victoria where the Brown Brothers Winery is today. It was under the guidance of his son, John Charles Brown, that Brown Brothers established its reputation as a producer willing to experiment with innovative grape varieties. This experimentation and sense of adventure carries across the whole business and can be seen at our cellar doors from Milawa to Tasmania.

As a key member of Australia’s First Families of Wine, the third and fourth generations of the family keep tradition alive with over 60 different wines available for tasting. The Brown family is proud to have forged a reputation, locally and abroad, as varietal wine specialists and winemaking innovators. Over the years we’ve seen many changes in the Australian Wine industry, yet the cornerstones of Brown Brothers remain constant. We’re still a family business; still hand-crafting wines.

The Brown Brothers vineyards in Victoria and Tasmania are as varied as the wines and wine styles. Within a 50km radius of Milawa, climatic conditions range from cool, alpine areas to lush temperate valleys to sun-drenched plains. Each of the vineyards has been selected on the basis of their suitability for the variety or wine style. Varietal diversity through the Brown Brothers family of wines provides a point of difference and offers consumers the ability to experiment across a range.

Banksdale - The Banksdale Vineyard is situated between our Whitlands and Milawa vineyards in the King Valley in North East Victoria. The site was carefully chosen for cooler climate grape varieties, being midway between the coolness of Whitlands and the warmer valley floor. It has rich, red volcanic soils ideal for viticulture. As well as providing a terrific grape growing environment, Banksdale has breathtaking views down the King Valley.

• Varieties: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Tempranillo, Prosecco, Savagnin.
• Area: 101 Ha
• Altitude: 450m
• Rainfall: 920mm
• Mean January Temperature: 20.6 deg C

Hazards -The Hazards Vineyard is situated half way between Swansea and Bicheno on Tasmania’s spectacular east coast. Tasmania sits in the path of the “Roaring Forties” whose strong westerly winds generally drive the state’s weather patterns. Being on the east coast The Hazards Vineyard is largely sheltered from these influences and benefits from a drier and more moderate climate than other parts of the island. Rainfall depends on easterly weather patterns generated by low pressure systems off the coast which can produce large falls from time to time.

• Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling.
• Area: 175 Ha
• Altitude: 5m – 95m
• Rainfall: 712mm
• Mean January Temperature: 17 deg C

Heathcote - The Heathcote Vineyard is located in rolling hills that form part of the Mt Camel range on the northern edge of the Heathcote wine region in Central Victoria. The Mount Camel range stretches from Heathcote in the south to Rochester in the north. The Heathcote region is forging its reputation as a premium red wine area with established vineyards increasing their plantings and new vignerons entering the region. The Heathcote Vineyard is home to Brown Brothers’ super-premium red grape varieties.

• Varieties: Shiraz, Merlot, Durif, Malbec, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Dolcetto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Montepulciano, Nero D’Avola.
• Area: 100 Ha
• Altitude: 150m
• Rainfall: 475mm
• Mean January Temperature: 22.3 deg C