When Frank and Wendy Zantvoort first planted their vineyard in 1989 there were no winemakers in the family, now there are three plus two viticulturalists! Wendy was first to qualify as a winemaker, having studied at Charles Sturt. Her daughter Maitena did the same, then married Ewan Campbell, another winemaker. To complete the picture, Frank and son Michael handle the viticulture.

Their new 20 hectare vineyard is planted solely to red varieties, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. These are varieties that most Mornington Peninsula vignerons dismiss as too difficult to ripen. The Stumpy Gully team however are very optimistic about them, and well they should be, with one of the warmest sites in the area, ripening is no problem; proof that microclimates on the Peninsula make generalizations foolish.

The adventure continues in the winery during vintage, with so many varieties coming in, the winemakers take small parcels, assess them individually then carefully craft each wine. No wonder they need three winemakers, this is labour intensive but the quality of the product makes it more than worthwhile.