Vineyard 28 – Wines to enjoy

Back in 1989 a Kiwi girl met a West Aussie boy whilst working in Melbourne.  A common love of travel saw them work and travel overseas together for a few years, before returning to Melbourne where they got married, bought a house and celebrated the birth of their son – Bailey.

During these years they also discovered a shared love of all things to do with wine. In early 1997 they embarked on a ‘tree change’ – relocating themselves and their son, closer to family and to a 10 acre property near Harvey. This place would become Vineyard 28 – with the first vines planted in the Spring of 1998.

Some 25 years later and the property now boasts an extensive vineyard planted mostly to the Italian varieties, Arneis, Fiano, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo along with some Muscat Petit a Grain and Cabernet Sauvignon. During this journey their daughter Gabrielle joined the family in 1999.

It was a family effort to create the Cellar Door, built from local Lake Clifton limestone in 2005 and the winery building (Winemaker – Mark’s big shed) was added in 2010.

2015 saw the vineyard plantings further expanded by Mark & Pippa taking on the lease of another vineyard site in the Harvey hills, known as Wildwater – where they now grow Pignoletto, Muscat Petit a Grain, Semillon, Dolcetto, Grenache, Montepulciano and Barbera.

They have won numerous medals and awards for their wine over the years. Their proudest moments have been winning the Best Italian Red Trophy for their Dolcetto at the 2018 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, and then more recently for winning the Best Geographe White Wine Trophy for their 2022 Fiano, at the 2022 WA Alternative Varieties Wine Show.

Why the name Vineyard 28?

’28’ is the colloquial name for the Port Lincoln Ringneck here in WA, apparently due to their contact call – a whistled “twen-ty-eight” which can be heard across the south-west forests. When planting the first vines these cheeky little parrots were a bit too helpful, snacking on new shoots. Thus it was decided to take their name for the property.

Local artist and family friend, Yvonne Chapman then used some artistic license to create a special feather logo in ’28’ colours just for Vineyard 28. This design is now proudly used on all our wine labels.