The Portsea Estate story started in the mid-1950s, when Ted and June Ross established the property – a former limestone quarry overlooking Bass Strait – as a small cattle farm. It remained that way until 2000, when it was planted with vines by their son Warwick, who came to wine through a love of Burgundy – and, somewhat unusually, through a career in film, as the producer of Red Obsession (among other acclaimed documentaries).

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Today, the estate remains a family affair, with Warwick’s son Will running the business alongside winemaker and vineyard manager Matt Lugg.

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Matt joined Portsea Estate in 2021, bringing experience from Stonier, Tyrrell’s and Clyde Park, as well as vintages in Burgundy and the Rhône. His approach is suitably site-focused: restrained winemaking, plenty of curiosity, and a particular commitment to regenerative viticulture and soil health.

Sitting on ancient limestone and calcareous sands, the original Portsea vineyard is cooled by its proximity toBass Strait. Their second vineyard in Main Ridge is a world away – higher, wetter and planted on ancient basalt and clay-derived soils, providing a totally unique snapshot, and comparatively distinctive expressions, of Mornington.