The geology of the Yea area presents excellent potential for producing fine wine. Millions of years ago, thousands of hills were pushed up as lateral pressure caused the land to buckle. This forced bedrock and subsoil to the surface. Since then, erosion of the remaining topsoil has left much of the land low in fertility, with a deep subsoil composed of clay and rock. This process has left subsoil minerals near the surface and readily available to the vines, and the many hills offer different heights and aspects, ideal for siting a vineyard so the grapes get maximum exposure to heat and sunlight. Soil profiles here can be readily observed by checking out the cuttings through hills along many local roads.

The soils on our vineyard are old and low in fertility. They consist of shale, mudstone and cracking clay over solid rock, dating to the Silurian Period, over 400 million years ago. In fact, very close to the vineyard is a world heritage site where rocks contain fossils of the earliest plant known to man. This plant is named Baragwanathia.

Our soils are rich in minerals, the most common being iron and manganese. Iron seems to be present in significant amounts right through the soil profile. Bore water in the Yea district has always been high in iron, and the bores are often over 100m deep.

Every effort is made to keep our vineyard as close to nature as possible. It is planted with the red varieties pinot noir, merlot, shiraz (syrah), and cabernet sauvignon. Vines are in 200m rows facing north west, trained to vertical shoot position and on their own roots. We have encouraged local native species to grow between the vine rows, and try to maintain the soil in its original condition using minimal tillage. This encouragement of bio-diversity helps with insect control by providing shelter for predators to breed.

Our goal in the vineyard is to produce perfect, ripe, grapes of intense flavour each season. Low yields of less than 6t/ha are achieved by spur pruning in winter and, on occasion, fruit pruning in summer and restricted irrigation. However, the site is not vigorous and the low fertility seems to limit yields quite naturally. Here Mother Nature helps significantly. The wind blows either from the north or the south, and as it does it sweeps the vineyard clean of any disease that might affect the vines. The long dry summers and cool dry autumns all add up to a very healthy environment in the vineyard where the vectors for mould growth ( the nemesis of the vine) are virtually non-existent.

The only chemicals approved by biodynamics are copper and sulphur, and these are used sparingly. All weeding is performed using a mechanical weeder that is attached to the tractor. The biodynamic spray 500 is sprayed at least twice each year, and other biodynamic sprays are used as required.

At the start of each season, pheromone traps are placed throughout the vineyard to monitor insects like the light brown apple moth. Frequent inspections of the vines are also made to determine the level of natural predators if moths look like posing a serious threat. Biological sprays are available to deal with these and vine moths if they get out of control. However, after nearly ten years, we have not experienced any other problems with pests on the vines.

Work in the vineyard often requires the care and skill of a number of people. We are lucky to have found two, Rick and Yvonne,  who have joined us on this journey, and their hard work and dedication over the years has been vital to our success.

Care of the environment at Rees Miller Estate is uppermost in the management of the vineyard (and winery). This is not just our personal philosophy, there are many practical reasons for it. If the vineyard was allowed to degrade, it would be very expensive to repair, and production will be disrupted. Chemicals are avoided not only because they disrupt what nature has provided, they also interfere with the natural growth of the vines, and might result in unnatural flavours in the wine.

Our management has been successful in maintaining a high level of natural biological activity in the vineyard and throughout the entire farm. As a result, Rees Miller Estate is home to millions of predatory spiders which control insects, as well as many species of birds which nest in the vines each year, and insects and other native species which live in the native grasses in and around the vineyard. (We have seen more and more species of birds arrive regularly each year since we purchased the property.) Birds are kept off the grapes before harvest by netting the entire vineyard.

The climate at Yea is considered "cool", so the usual hot Australian summers are regularly followed by long, mild autumns, where the days are warm and the nights have a slight chill. Each day of their ripening phase, the grapes warm up and ripen, then cool down again as night falls. This constant warming and cooling lengthens the ripening period and creates a deeper flavour in the grapes and subsequently in the wines. It also means we can harvest later, so our cabernet sauvignon can stay on the vine until late-May.

In winter, we bring our flock of Dorper sheep in among the vines to control weeds. The Dorper comes from South Africa and sheds its wool each year, so no shearing is required. (A friend calls them deciduous sheep!) It also brings some joy to pruning in the cold, wet weather as we watch the newborn lambs frolic around the vineyard.

"Matter is nothing, what matters is the gesture that made it." Goethe.