About Chestnut Hill Vineyard

Situated in the Cardinia Ranges of West Gippsland, Victoria is the estate known as Chestnut Hill Vineyard. It was established in 1985 by Drago Javor, who had migrated from Croatia in the late 1960s. His childhood sweetheart, Ivka, followed him to this country and they soon married. They settled down together and worked tirelessly to build their new life together in their new country.

They bought the estate in March 1985 and planted an acre of Chardonnay and Shiraz shortly after. They added more Chardonnay in 1994 and then increased the range to include and Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

The vineyard runs to about eight acres and extends along the Pakenham road for two-and-a-half kilometres. It lies on a steep north-east-facing slope and has grey clay-loam soils. At three hundred metres altitude it has spectacular views of the Westernport Bay and Hastings.

Drago, a.k.a. Charlie, and Ivka have a philosophy of producing a low yield in order to gain a very high quality standard of fruit. Their aim is to create exceptional wines and they achieve this most admirably.

Their son, Mark, is in the process of completing his degree in Wine Science at Wagga Wagga and will most likely put his new-found knowledge to good use in the vineyard. They have also built a new cellar and tasting room and all seems to be steaming along nicely.

Chestnut Hill is now an established label. The Liberty Chardonnay 2001 says all that is meaningful to Drago and Ivka; it speaks volumes about how they feel about their new country: ‘Liberty is a gift that we had never experienced in our homeland.  We came to Australia and found it.’

At the Cellar Door visitors can sample some of their great wines, which include Chardonnay, Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Why not take a trip out there and have a great day out?