ViC
History of Yarra Valley The Yarra Valley was Australia’ s first commercial vineyard area, established in 1838 when the Scottish born Ryrie brothers bought 43,000 acres of land and named the property Yering Station. The first commercial wine from Yering Station was made in 1845 by James Dardel. Grape growing and winemaking continued in the Yarra Valley until the 1920’ s and then lay dormant until the 1960’ s when Wantirna Estate began producing wine again. This instigated growth in the region and the Yarra Valley is now home to over 80 wineries and has a reputation for producing premium cool climate wines. Helen and Joey Estate is located in the sub region of Gruyere. This area is home to many internationally recognized and iconic producers who share the same hill as our vineyard, Helen and Joey Estate.
The Vineyard Helen and Joey Estate is located within the original Yeringberg Station and is proud to share the history of the Yarra Valley. Situated on the slopes of the hill, our vineyard, established in 1996, has the perfect aspect and exposure to ripen both early and late ripening varieties. We currently have Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc planted for our white wines. For our red wines, we have Pinot noir, Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet sauvignon.
Come Visit Us! In 2015 we built our cellar door facility and small winery. The cellar door commands one of the greatest views of the Yarra Valley. Perched on the top of our hill, you can relax and enjoy our wines while learning something about the winemaking process, or just taking in the view. The cellar door is open from 10am to 5pm 7 days a week. We are easily accessed off the Maroondah Highway and no matter what time of year you visit the Yarra Valley, you will be rewarded for your time. The beautiful rolling hills are magical all year round and we are lucky enough to have one of the best positions to contemplate those views.
Our Wines
Inara Inara means happy and cheerful and we believe this name represents our easy to drink varietal and blended wines. The Inara range provides our customers with great value for money with their upfront fruit and playful nature.
Layla Layla is the dark beauty and, in Arabic, means the‘ ecstasy of the wine’. Our Layla wines are more brooding than the Inara wines and show greater concentration, layers of complexity and texture. Most of the Layla wines are aged in oak barrels.
Alena Alena represents our most complex, concentrated and deep wines. Alena is a mystical name derived from Russian and is our quiet ode to our passionate owner, Helen. The Alena wines are made from the best quality fruit from our vineyard and the winemaking involves allowing the beauty of the fruit to shine.
52 touring australia magazine • summer 2017