Roots in the Industry
The owners of Sanguine Estate have made a remarkable winemaking ancestry discovery, dating back to the 1860s in Victoria. Owned- and -operated by the Hunter family, it was whilst reading a book on the history of winemaking in Victoria that Tony Hunter was introduced to the name Pietro D’Orsa – a registered vigneron in the late 1860s. Further research uncovered that D’Orsa was in fact Hunter’s great grandfather. Leaving his hometown of Poschiavo located on the Swiss-Italian border, D’Orsa embarked on an epic journey that would take him across the world to the gold mining town of Maldon located a mere one hour from Sanguine Estate. Travelling with grape vines and a rifle belonging to D’Orsa’s father and Hunter’s great, great grandfather believed to have been used in the Napoleonic war, D’Orsa planted a vineyard where he settled in regional Victoria. Be sure to visit Sanguine Estate’s cellar door and enquire about this remarkable story while sipping the D’Orsa Heathcote shiraz, as the best really is yet to come.