Based in our home town of Ballarat, and surrounded by the great wine regions of Western and central Victoria, winemaker John Harris, works closely with growers in the Pyrenees, Macedon, and Ballarat wine regions to craft wines that display distinctive varietal expression and reflect individual vineyard, vintage and regional character.
-
-
Our Winemaker
Whilst studying immunology and microbiology at Monash University John fell in love with wine. 15 years later, having completed the Wine Science degree and working in wine retail as well as boutique and multi-national wine businesses here and abroad, John moved back to his home town of Ballarat in Western Victoria to team up with his wine loving in-laws the Mitchells, to create Mitchell Harris Wines.
From the classic Western Victorian pepper and spice in our Pyrenees reds to the cool climate focus and finesse of our Sabre sparkling, our wines give you a real glimpse into what makes the central and western Victorian wine growing regions so special.
-
-
Peerick Vineyard – Pyrenees Wine Region
Nestled in the hills just outside of Moonambel and at the end of the narrow, dusty and bumpy Wild Dog Track, is the Peerick Vineyard. The first Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz vines were planted in the 1990s. Planted on undulating slopes to maximise the abundant sunlight and to allow cool air movement from the surrounding hills, the shallow, rocky, and quartz laden soils provide an ideal site to ripen all varieties planted.
-
Wightwick Vineyard – Ballarat Wine Region
Located just 8 km to the north of our CBD cellardoor, between Creswick and Ballarat, the Wightwick Vineyard at Invermay is perched on a gentle north east facing slope approximately 500 m above sea level. 400 million year old Ordovician soils of structured clays and gravely quartz are moderately fertile and have good water holding capacity. Planted exclusively to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, we work with Keith and Anne Wightwick to help grow and nurture the fruit from which we craft our wines.
-
-
-
Wilimee Vineyard – Macedon Ranges Wine Region
At an altitude of 600m and planted on some of the oldest Cambrian soils in Australia, the Wilimee Vineyard is one of the oldest vineyards in the Macedon Ranges. Originally founded as the Portree vineyard in 1982, we are honoured to work with our friends Ben Ranken and Sally Richardson who take a light and minimalist approach to grow the Chardonnay that forms the backbone to our Sabre sparkling wines.
-
Our Cellar Door
In 2011 we fell in love with an abandoned 150 year old workshop, gave it a good clean and a lot of love, and created the Mitchell Harris Cellar Door and Wine Bar. It’s the place we call home, where we can share our love of winemaking and all good things to eat and drink with locals and visitors to our region.
-
