You want enthusiasm? With Bress winemaker and owner, Adam Marks, you’ve got it. The man has no off button, giving boundless energy, drive, not to mention his heart and soul, to the Bress brand.
I don’t know whether to define the Bress property as a vineyard with an orchard attached or vice versa. The land breathes and hums to Marks’ integrated plan combining wine for the brain and food for the stomach, grown side by side and delivered to the table thus.
Check out the number of events held annually at the site, from a moonlight tour and dinner in the garden, to pétanque over lunch as well as weekend meals during summer and autumn.
Cider and wine share top billing here. There is no satisfactory way to separate the two, such is the strong quality of each.
Growing and making of both wine and cider tends towards the biodynamic as well as the use of natural yeasts and minimal filtration. Some grapes are sourced outside the Harcourt Valley, from the Yarra Valley, Macedon Ranges and Heathcote but for me the home vineyard stands strong, especially the shiraz. Jeni Port