About Bellvale Wine

Bellvale Wine, established in 1998 by noted winemaker and viticulturalist, John Ellis, is a family-owned business, located in South Gippsland on the coast of Victoria. They are producers of superior wines for the Australian and overseas markets. It is a boutique, cool-climate, winery that lies in the lush Tarwin River valley, one of Australia’s best regions for producing Pinot-Noir.

Bellvale is a derivation of the Ellis family’s agricultural heritage, which can be traced back to a farm in the New York area, in the late 1600s. John Ellis himself spent fifty years on Long Island, in south-east New York before coming to Australia. John was a commercial pilot for twenty-five years and throughout that time developed a passion for fine wine and in particular viticulture.

It was his exposure to Australian wines that finally settled the matter. He had studied in Burgundy to learn traditional French winemaking methods and traditional viticulture and had even planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to supply the first vineyard in the Hamptons in the 1970s. But his deeper study into the terroir in Australia was the catalyst in bringing him to this country to begin his new venture.

A long period of research ensued and he selected South Gippsland’s cool climate to open his vineyard. His goal is to produce wines of the quality and integrity of the premium producers of the Burgundy region.

The vineyard was purchased and their label depicted two giant oak trees that command the centre of the estate. It was long thought that the South Gippsland region was hardly the place to grow Pinot Noir grapes, but today, it is in fact regarded as being one of the finest in the country. Cool evenings and warm days, with the predominant south-westerly breezes from the Southern Ocean, makes this location ideal for the ripening process.

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are available on their website.