Eldridge Estate is located 90 minutes south of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula. The area is full of beach and holiday towns, golf courses, horse riding, nature reserves and wineries. The ‘Peninsula’ has long been a playground for the people of Melbourne, yet Red Hill remains a peaceful rural community. Our vineyard is situated on Arthurs Seat Road, between the Red Hill turn-off and Red Hill shops. The entrance to the Estate is past the Showgrounds (site of the famous Red H It’s a beautiful setting, but it’s also near perfect to make our single vineyard wines. We have 3 hectares (8 acres) under vines, all with superb views of the valley and hills behind the vineyard and winery. The vineyard has an altitude of 225 metres at a Latitude 38 22′ 16″ and Longitude 145 1′ 11″ So in altitude and climate, the site is similar to Burgundy in France. The soil is a red clay volcanic loam on a north facing slope that drops 45 metres from the top, near Arthurs Seat Road, to the spring-fed dam at the bottom of row 1 (160 metres long). It is protected from harsh winds by natural land forms which result in a long, cool, ripening period. The soils are basaltic loam from the Tertiary period, ie about 30 Million years before present time. This means that the combination of ancient landforms and soil have combined to produce a truly unique set of conditions that encourage the vines to grow deep roots in search of water and nutrients. The vines have been trained into what is known as the Vertical Shoot Position system of canopy management to provide the best possible flavour development at our unique site. (Website)
