In 1996, Sylke and I started our search for land for our vineyard. Sylke had left a position at Aerospace Technology in Melbourne to pursue a sustainable lifestye and raise her son, Christopher, in Tasmania. I had been involved in producing Grass Roots magazine since it's inception. Grass Roots has been continuously published since 1972 and is about sustainable living, organic growing and country skills.

It was Sylke's interest in viticulture that initiated our search for a property on which to plant a vineyard. We started exploring the area north of the Yarra Valley and it was 18 months before we finally stumbled upon a 64ha farm at Yea. Here the soils are relatively infertile, the topography undulating, and over the centuries, most of the topsoil has been washed off the hills into the valleys. This process is still occurring today, especially in drought years. One hectare of pinot noir had been planted in 1996, so we set to and planted a further 16ac of red varieties. We designed the vineyard ourselves, and found the contractors for irrigation and post ramming, arranged assistance for installing the trellis system and planting the rootlings. By Christmas 1998, we had just over seven hectares of rootlings planted and began the many weeks of training young vines up to the trellis wires.

In 2000, we harvested our first pinot noir and have now experienced enough vintages to realise fully the power of the site we have chosen. Concurrently, Sylke has completed a diploma of viticulture and a diploma of winemaking with the University of Melbourne. We are now producing four wines and export to a number of countries.

One special thrill for us has been the placing of our Thousand Hills Shiraz 2003 in the top 20 of the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge. This is a show where wineries throughout Australia enter their best shiraz, regardless of vintage. We are also very proud of achieving biodynamic status for the whole property in 2007 after many years of careful management. In this process, samples of soil and water are taken from over the entire property for analysis and the results were that there was no sign of contamination on the farm. We have since found that not only is our farm completely clean, but the whole area is so untouched by pollution that it is the centre of production for Australia's trout industry. This industry thrives on the abundance of fresh, clean water in the mountain streams running down from Mt Buller and the Great Dividing Range. These streams are also a favourite for fly fishing.

Rees Miller wines are exported to Canada, Japan, Germany and New Zealand.