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HISTORY
From a small 4-acre vineyard established in the Red Hill region of the Mornington Peninsula in 1986, and with the first wines released in 1990, Tuck's Ridge now produces over 8,000 cases of wine annually for sale in Australia with a small allocation for overseas. Today, Tuck's Ridge is regarded by Australia's leading wine critic, James Halliday, as the top pinot noir producer in the country; last year the Tuck's Ridge Hurley single vineyard pinot noir was rated as Australia's top rated red wine, sharing this esteemed crown with Hill of Grace and Grange.
In addition to the Tuck's Ridge vineyard site at Red Hill, fruit is sourced from 9 different vineyard sites across the Mornington Peninsula: from Dromana flats, to Merrick's North, to Shoreham.
Tuck's Ridge, owned by Peter Hollick and his wife Helen Pattison, is one of the largest family-owned vineyards on the Mornington Peninsula. The Tuck family were pioneers in the region and the Tuck's Ridge vineyard on Red Hill Ridge is named in their honor.
THE REGION
Just over an hour's drive southeast of Melbourne in the State of Victoria, the Mornington Peninsula is one of Australia's most southerly wine making regions and experiences a mix of cool and maritime climatic influences. The Mornington Peninsula is famous for its consistent annual rainfall levels, warm summer days, and extended ripening season -- allowing for the full flavor development of the key grape varieties of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It has a Heat Degree Days Index of 1080 and latitude of 38° South. The cool climate influence gives the wines an intensity of flavor with great elegance and finesse. The region has a diversity of soil types varying from sandy loam to red volcanic and altitudes ranging from 25 to 250 meters.
Very much a boutique winery region, the Mornington Peninsula boasts more than 170 vineyards & 40 cellar doors. With its beautiful beaches and picturesque countryside the Peninsula is a major tourist destination and Melbourne's foremost weekend getaway.
WINE AND WINEMAKING
The Tuck's Ridge range of wines is 100% Mornington Peninsula and represents the best of Estate grown vineyards from each vintage. The varieties are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winemaking philosophy is to handle all wines in small batches and then blend to ensure the final wine reflects the region in which it is grown, the character of the vintage, and the style of each grape.
In order to capture the benefits of the cool climate while also maintaining consistent quality across vintages, Tuck's Ridge uses grapes grown on north facing slopes only (in the Southern Hemisphere, north facing is the sunniest aspect). This strategy has paid off as Tuck's Ridge has created exceptional wines in arguably marginal vintages (such as the rainy 2002 season), while other regional producers either lost most of the vintage or produced inferior wines.
The wines currently available in the United States are:
