The winemakers bringing traditional Spanish and Italian wines to Gippsland

Growing up, the only thing David Antonie wanted to be was a grape farmer. 

“I’m an ex-Mildura boy who bought my first grape farm in my early 20s,” he told the Gippsland Monitor.  

“It was the only thing that I really wanted to do in life.”

Fast-forward 40 years, and that grape farm of sultanas and table grapes in Mildura has been replaced by a boutique vineyard outside of Neerim South. 

For the last 20 years, David and his partner Maria have lived at St Fiacres Farm, a 30-acre plot with two acres of vines and an acre of market garden vegetables. 

“We have Spanish and Italian grape varieties,” said Antonie. 

This year has been hotter and drier than usual, leading to Antonie picking his grapes earlier in the season. Three tons of grapes were harvested from the two acres of vines, including the Italian variety Sangiovese and the Spanish varieties Tempranillo and Grenache, all of them pressed and bubbling away to be totally sealed to age very soon.

It is only the second year Antonie has made wine onsite at St Fiacres Farm, having made it all over the country since the first pressing in 2007. 

“We have made it everywhere up until now and a few years ago the winemaker I was working with in Meeniyan said he didn’t want to do it anymore, so I bought most of his equipment and then just bought bits and pieces, as it were, to build a shed,” said Antonie.

“Once we put a bottling line in, we will probably be self-sufficient.

“That will be nice, as there will be no hiking the wine anywhere and that is nice in itself, because there is no time wasted and I can come down here five times a day and just check things, because there is a bit of testing through the whole process.”

Even though Gippsland Monitor’s visit was at 10am it would be rude if we didn’t sample Antonie’s wines.

The Sangiovese Tempranillo is a blend Antonie has been making since 2007. “It sells well, it’s a nice wine and the main thing is people buy it,” said Antonie.

The Monitor also sampled a new rosé which, if approved, will be called “candy rose” because of its tropical taste and candy colour.

“We would drink it chilled,” said Antonie. “That is the first time I’ve made a rosé and I’m pretty happy with it.” 

Wine is not the only thing produced at St Fiacres Farm. After all, St. Fiacres is the patron saint of gardening.

The one-acre market garden on-site produces vegetables sold directly to local restaurants or turned into seasonal preserves by Maria. 

Maria finds peace in the kitchen, valuing simple, real foods, made with traditional family recipes.

“Dave grows most of what I preserve and that is our story, that we grow what we preserve,” said Maria 

You can find St Fiacres Farm and its wine, The Krooked Row Wines, at many Gippsland markets and festivals, including the Warragul Farmers Market.