Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir – For the love of Pinot

Jamie Goode is a UK-based wine writer, lecturer, wine judge and book author. With a PhD in plant biology, he worked as a science editor, before starting wineanorak.com in 1999, which became a popular wine website. He is active as a speaker/lecturer and also a wine judge, and is one of the co-chairs for the International Wine Challenge. Goode’s books include The Science of Wine, Authentic Wine, I Taste Red and Flawless. He’s also prolific on Twitter (@jamiegoode) and Instagram (@drjamiegoode).

Mike Aylward went into business with his parents in 2004, with a focus on making the highest quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the Mornington Peninsula. Mike has travelled extensively through Burgundy, Alsace and Champagne to determine the Ocean Eight style and the best quality winemaking techniques. His travels to Champagne were also the inspiration behind an Ocean Eight sparkling, made in very limited quantities when seasons are ideal for sparkling production. Although the wines are grown and made on the Mornington Peninsula, the most salient Burgundian techniques are applied to take the wines to another level. It’s this attention to quality and detail that led to Mike being named Young Gun of Wine in 2011.

With no formal wine training, yet over 100 wine show trophies for his Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz, Lindsay McCall delivers in the determined winemaking stakes. After a wine epiphany with a Seville Estate Shiraz in 1980, it led him to plant a vineyard on an old orchard in Paringa Road in 1984. This Economics graduate and ex-geography teacher who grew up milking cows, continued to teach while establishing the vineyard and winery and had his first commercial vintage in 1988. Fast forward to 1995, he was finally able to ‘give up his day job’ and become a full-time vigneron. In 2007 Paringa Estate won the inaugural James Halliday award for best winery in Australia and Lindsay hasn’t looked back. A true pioneer of all things wine on the Mornington Peninsula, this hands-on winemaker with one of the few Pinot Noirs in the highly regarded Langton’s Classification, continues to excel and innovate.

Peter Dillon knows his job is one of a kind.  From travelling around Australia to across the globe keeping abreast of local and international wine news while overseeing all elements of Handpicked Wine’s operations, this devoted winemaker wanders where many would love to follow. Managing vineyards and making wine on the Mornington Peninsula, Peter’s philosophy is both unique and undeniably true to producing quality wine. Offering wine selections from Tasmania, Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Yarra Valley and of course the Mornington Peninsula, Handpicked Wine’s wide-ranging presentation of stellar product merges with Peter’s breadth of experience to result in a boon for the Mornington Peninsula.

From his tech company CEO history to purchasing Ten Minutes by Tractor with his wife Karen in 2004 and going on to produce his dream Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varieties from three incredible vineyards in the region, ten minutes apart by tractor, Martin is a dedicated champion of Australian cool-climate wines. Committed to creating true to origin quality wines and best vineyard care for choice fruit creation, Ten Minutes by Tractor produces elegant, acclaimed wines sprung from the Mornington Peninsula’s excellent grape-growing maritime climate. Martin’s mission to share “the naturally developing intense flavours produced during the long ripening season on the Peninsula” with the rest of the world is palpable.

Tim Perrin took on the role of Chief Winemaker of both Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate in 2023, where he gets to demonstrate his understanding of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir across some of the Mornington Peninsula’s most recognised vineyard sites. Tim graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2006 with a degree in wine sciences, he was Dux of the AWRI Advanced Wine Assessment Coarse in 2015, and he was a Len Evans Scholar in 2019. He has worked in California, at Golden State Vintners, as well as in Coonawarra, Yenda, near Griffith, NSW, and notably with the great Jim Chatto at McWilliams Wines from 2012 to 2015. He moved to the Yarra after McWilliams to take on the Senior Winemaker role at Oakridge, before joining the team at Kooyong & Port Phillip Estate.

Rollo Crittenden has had the privilege of studying and working in many of the world’s most acclaimed wineries and wine regions. After completing vintages in California, Oregon, Italy and the Hunter Valley he commenced full-time work with Dromana Estate on the Mornington Peninsula, becoming head winemaker in 2003, and in 2007 at the age of 30, returned to the family business Crittenden Estate to a mature vineyard he’d helped plant 25 years earlier. As winemaker, Rollo embarked on producing classic French and Italian varieties as well as Spanish style and received the 2010 Australian Young Gun of Wine award. His deep commitment to the long-term sustainability of the land has been instrumental in the business being awarded a number of internationally acclaimed Sustainable Wine-Growing awards, he was on the Membership Committee for Australian Grape and Wine and is a member of the ASVO, cementing his dedication to Mornington Peninsula wine excellence.