Plunkett Fowles Strathbogie Vitners

Located just 130 kilometres north of Melbourne in the rugged Strathbogie Ranges. Plunkett Fowles has been producing and dealing with award winning wines for the past 15 years. The ancient highlands of Strathbogie Ranges are over 400 million years old and are characterised by granite outcrops and soils of sandy clay loam overlying orange clays of varying depths. The region is probably the kindest cool climate region in South Eastern Australia.

Strathbogie Ranges Vintners are makers of wine, making their own award winning wines, as well as wines for over 20 clients. Strathbogie Ranges Vintners are also dealers in wine, making bulk wine to speculate in bulk markets and trading with their own brands, both domestically and internationally. The company readily assist in the sales of the brands of clients whilst also operating as a conduit for fruit and wine sales in the region.

Plunkett Fowles are a partnership of two families: the Plunkett and the Fowles families, who came together through a long-standing association with the Strathbogie Ranges where both family farms are located.

Chief winemaker, shareholder and senior managing partner Sam Plunkett (B Ec Monash) is a dynamic and highly respected figure in the Australian wine industry. As winemaker at Plunkett Wines from 1991, he amassed more than 230 medals from Australia’s highly competitive wine show system. His best-known creation, the Plunkett Reserve Shiraz, has won more than 30 gold medals, including several awards for best red wine. His reputation for excellence and consistency in winemaking led to him building an ancillary business as an integrated contract winemaking operation for 15 other wineries in central Victoria. In his tenure at Plunkett Wines he helped build the winery from a tiny facility attached to a farm building to a 20,000 case per year facility with state-of-the-art crushing, fermentation and bottling equipment.

Matt Fowles (LLB, BA Monash) has stepped up from a successful legal career to the post of shareholder and senior managing partner with Strathbogie Ranges Vintners. One of the key figures in the creation of the company, Matt brings his commercial legal experience with the leading international firm Baker & McKenzie to the new entity. He takes up the key tasks of coordinating the sales and marketing of new and continuing wine brands, as well as developing the strategic direction for the company. As a director of international investment firm Scarborough Capital, he has gained valuable experience in building relationships with companies overseas.

Matt was recently selected for the year-long Future Leaders program being run jointly by peak wine industry bodies including the Winemaker’s Federation of Australia and the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation. Program graduates are expected to become the next generation of leaders in the industry, through participation in industry positions.

The Strathbogie Ranges Vintners utilise a modern winery, capable of crushing up to 7500 tonnes. The site includes an industry leading water treatment plant complete with treed nature reserve onto which the treated water is pumped.

The families each own vineyards totalling around 500 acres (202 hectares). These holdings include mature plantings of Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Verdelho, Gewurztramminer, Viognier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and, the specialty of the region, Shiraz.

The Strathbogie Ranges Vintners brands include the Plunkett range, Upton Run Reserve, Blackwood Ridge, Alexander Park and Vinus.

Winemaker: Sam Plunkett
Export contact: Matt Fowles
Address: Plunkett Fowles PO Box 22 1683 Upton Road Avenel VIC 3664
Telephone: +61 3 5796 2718
Fax: +61 3 5796 2719
Email: info@plunkettfowles.com.au
Web address: www.plunkettfowles.com.au

Vineyard: 202 Hectares
Production: Currently 20,000 cases annually
Brands:

Plunkett Fowles Blackwood Ridge Sauvignon Blanc
Plunkett Fowles Blackwood Ridge Unwooded Chardonnay
Plunkett Fowles Blackwood Ridge Pinot Noir
Plunkett Fowles Blackwood Ridge Shiraz
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Strathbogie Ranges Riesling
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Strathbogie Ranges Gewurztraminer
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Strathbogie Ranges Chardonnay
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Strathbogie Ranges Merlot
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Strathbogie Ranges Cabernet Merlot
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Reserve Shiraz
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Reserve Merlot
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Reserve Cabernet
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Reserve Cabernet "The Exception"
Plunkett Fowles Plunkett Tawny Port



Left to right: Sam Plunkett and Matt Fowles