David and Catherine Ritchie established Booroolite Wines during the 2004 vintage and are proud to present our first wines. The Booroolite Valley is just south of Mansfield, in Victoria’s High Country and is best known for the Delatite River that runs through it and the soaring snow covered mountains that surround it.

In autumn of 2004 we heard of parcels of beautiful fruit that were otherwise going to waste and we couldn’t resist. These were local vineyards that were individually too small to supply most wine companies, but the grapes were far too good to leave to rot on the vines. Fortunately, despite record crops last year, King Valley Wines at Whitfield were able to help out. We chose the finest parcels for our own wines (the balance is sold as bulk to other wineries) and made wines that reflect the characteristics of both this area and the nature of the vineyards they are sourced from: small, sustainable, low input, hand and hard worked.

The wines are as lovely as we knew they would be. But that is not the only good news. By keeping our infrastructure to a minimum (i.e. none) our prices are a nice surprise too. This way, we are able to sell so-called “boutique” wine for the price of a bottom of the ladder big company wine. Which is a happy contrast to most small wineries, who charge a lot for often amateurish wines.

That’s only our opinion, of course…

So, no take-me-seriously, black, white and gold labels, no carry-on about the uniqueness of our product and what foods they might match. The volumes are as small as our marketing and promotion budget, but we think we might be on to something here; quality not quantity and value for money, not value added. Hope you think so, too.

Drink  Up

Catherine and David.