{"id":71072,"date":"2020-09-12T04:55:14","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T18:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=71072"},"modified":"2020-09-03T11:33:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T01:33:48","slug":"ballarats-own-winery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/ballarats-own-winery\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballarat\u2019s own winery"},"content":{"rendered":"

HAVING relocated from Beaufort in January this year, Michael Unwin\u2019s new vineyard sits proudly atop the Windermere countryside ten minutes from Ballarat.<\/p>\n

An innovator in his own right, Mr Unwin is not just known for his award-winning selection of wine but also for the wineries sustainable growing and production practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re organic, we support biodiversity, grow rare trees, use natural flooring and are off the grid,\u201d Mr Unwin said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Michael Unwin winery’s Windermere location.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe have a row of solar panels on the roof which allows us to be totally off grid although we do have a backup generator if we need it so we don\u2019t have to be perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur flooring is basically just pressed earth which we chose over concrete to reduce our carbon footprint.\u201d<\/p>\n

In relation to sustainable practices, one of Michael Unwin Wines main features are bag and boxed wines which are sold alongside its regular bottled varieties.<\/p>\n

Not only is boxed wine is more cost effective without impacting on the quality of the drop, Mr Unwin said it\u2019s far more environmentally friendly than glass bottles.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough wine bottles are recyclable, they aren\u2019t actually recycled a lot of the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty per cent of Australia\u2019s bottles are actually recycled and reused and 65 per cent of a bottle of wine\u2019s footprint is in the actual bottle itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been selling the bagged wine for years, it\u2019s significantly less plastic and waste for the bag and box so I\u2019d like to go totally<\/p>\n

\"\"
Varieties of wine stored in barrels at Michael Unwin’s winery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

bag and box eventually but I don\u2019t think that will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from packaging and wastage, cultivating the area’s natural biodiversity is another huge task for a winery, one that Michael Unwin Wines have happily taken up.<\/p>\n

With a background in horticulture, Mr Unwin said he\u2019s always been interested in soil biodiversity and regeneration, an interest that only grew with his experience in winemaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile reading about soil biodiversity, I decided to stop using herbicides on the crops and vines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also found out the silver Banksia trees were native to this area pre-colonisation and almost became extinct.<\/p>\n

\u201cI teamed up with Friends of Forgotten Woodlands to plant a lot of these along the fence line to then create families of their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although nature biodiversity and sustainability is at the heart of Michael Unwin\u2019s operations, they are first and foremost a winery.<\/p>\n

Michael Unwin\u2019s marketing manager Naomi Irvin said they have been reluctant to define the vineyard as totally organic or environmental because of the potential stigma surrounding these classifications.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes when you classify yourself as organic, people can associate it as being negative or bad because of other experiences they\u2019ve had with that kind of wine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that we want to promote that we\u2019re incredibly sustainable because that\u2019s just how Michael wants to do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people like the sustainability aspect, that\u2019s great, but if they just like the wine that\u2019s also great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, to its environmental efforts, Ms Irvin said the winery is unique in its efforts to produce a great product without relying on external resources or assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael called it a vertically integrated winery, so it\u2019s like the wine version of paddock to plate, we call it grape to glass,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Michael Unwin staff members bottling wine by hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cUnlike so many of the bigger wineries around, everything is done here.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the vines to bottling and labelling, we don\u2019t even sell it to a distributor, people come here to take it to their restaurants or home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Mr Unwin\u2019s passion for cultivating the land and growing more than just grapes is clear, he said he doesn\u2019t criticise other forms of growing and farming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do all of this because I\u2019ve done it for a long time and I own all of this land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I sometimes think as a younger person, I should\u2019ve done it sooner but it\u2019s not a judgement on the way that someone else does it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t be critical of what somebody else does because our story is ongoing as this stuff takes a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about Michael Unwin\u2019s wine variety and vineyard, visit michaelunwinwines.com.au<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HAVING relocated from Beaufort in January this year, Michael Unwin\u2019s new vineyard sits proudly atop the Windermere countryside ten minutes from Ballarat. An innovator in his own right, Mr Unwin is not just known for his award-winning selection of wine but also for the wineries sustainable growing and production practices. \u201cWe\u2019re organic, we support biodiversity, […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":71073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-71072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBallarat\u2019s own winery - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/ballarats-own-winery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ballarat\u2019s own winery - Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HAVING relocated from Beaufort in January this year, Michael Unwin\u2019s new vineyard sits proudly atop the Windermere countryside ten minutes from Ballarat. An innovator in his own right, Mr Unwin is not just known for his award-winning selection of wine but also for the wineries sustainable growing and production practices. \u201cWe\u2019re organic, we support biodiversity, [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/ballarats-own-winery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-11T18:55:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/09\/Michael-Unwin-scaled-e1599096498681.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ruby Staley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ruby Staley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ruby Staley\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1c39b3a145f39b0fcf908463ce6e578e\"},\"headline\":\"Ballarat\u2019s own winery\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-11T18:55:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":769,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Michael-Unwin-scaled-e1599096498681.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ballarat\u2019s own winery - Ballarat Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Michael-Unwin-scaled-e1599096498681.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-11T18:55:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/ballarats-own-winery\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Michael-Unwin-scaled-e1599096498681.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Michael-Unwin-scaled-e1599096498681.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":707,\"caption\":\"Enviro conscious: Winemaker Michael Unwin in his vineyard with a selection from his boxed wine variety. 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