Terindah Estate

Retired quantity surveyor Peter Slattery bought the 48ha property in '01, intending to plant the vineyard, make wine and develop a restaurant. He has achieved all of this (with help from others, of course), planting shiraz, pinot noir, pinot gris, picolit, chardonnay and zinfandel. Picolit is most interesting: it is a highly regarded grape in northern Italy, where it makes small quantities of high-quality sweet wine. It has proven very temperamental here, as in Italy, with very unreliable fruit set. In the meantime, he makes classic wines of very high quality from classic grape varieties. -JAMES HALLIDAY