About Bellarmine Wines

Bellarmine Wines can be found on Balyan Retreat, Pemberton, Western Australia. This winery was given a five-star rating by James Halliday, Australia’s foremost wine judge and critic. Indeed, he went on to rate all of the wines produced at Bellarmine at 90 points or more out of 100.

Bellarmine was named after the jugs that were made in the 15th century used to carry wine from the oak casks to the table. The estate is owned by Dr Willi Schumacher and his wife Gudrun. He is a pathologist by profession, but is also a wine enthusiast.

The Schumachers travelled the world looking for that perfect place to establish their vineyard and they found it in Pemberton. The property runs to 550 acres and it lies next to a hundred-year-old forest. It has a cool climate, with excellent drainage and sloping land. Pemberton has a gentle and reliable climate, which enables them to produce wines of quality and elegance.

They have planted 22 hectares of vines, which include: Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. All these varietals are being made into wonderful wines.

Although Willi and Gudrun Schumacher live in Bremerhavn in Germany, they come to Australia to visit their vineyard once a year. They are very pleased with Bellarmine Wines’s great results and amazing progress.

Dr Diane Miller is their winemaker. She has worked at Abbey Vale in the Margaret River region, in Oregon in the USA and at Peter Lehmann wines in the Barossa valley. She now is the winemaker at The Vintage Wineworx winery; it is here where she makes the Bellarmine wines.

Diane is now the Operations Manager for Bellarmine, which involves overseeing the vineyard, the winemaking, distribution and sales marketing.

Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz are all available on their web site.