FEW would recognise the flatlands northeast of Bendigo as a wine-grape region.
Yet the area, Runnymede, now known more for cereal and grain production, carries a proud history of wine production.
- AT A GLANCE
- Who: Rob and Pauline Bryans
- What: wine, lamb and beef
- Why: certified biodynamic
- Where: Bendigo, Victoria
- Report: GENEVIEVE BARLOW
In 1859, Runnymede wines clinched top awards at London wine shows, knocking the socks off judges and stealing a march on the European plonks of the day.
Today, Pauline and Rob Bryans produce about 2500 cases of wine annually from 10ha of vines. They began planting the vines - at Avonmore, about 1.6km from Runnymede, across the Campaspe River - 12 years ago.
The Bryans' unblended wines shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, sangiovese and viognier are sold to a growing Asian market, mainly Thailand and China, and also Canada.
The international demand is due partly to marketing and the family's chemical-free biodynamic methods of farming.
The entire farm is certified under the "Demeter" biodynamic label.
The Bryans grow their own mulch and rely on natural yeasts to make their wine.
Vine rows are spaced wider apart than normal, at 3.3m, to maximise exposure to sunlight, ensure good airflow, which helps ward off mildew, and allow the use of conventional farm machinery.
While they are best known for their wines, the couple, both aged 57, also turns off about 140 lambs and about 30 Red Angus steers for the lucrative biodynamic-organic retail meat sector annually from their 121ha.
They run about 150 first-cross Merino ewes, turning off lambs at 16 weeks of age at 20kg tradeweight in spring and selling their small cut of medium wool through a biodynamic network.
They also grow cereals and run 60 Red Angus breeders, plus bulls, and sell about 30 steers at 14-16 months of age.
The lamb and beef sell direct to butchers, giving the Bryans the luxury of knowing the price they'll get before the animals leave the farm.
They believe a productive working farm must have animals as well as plants.
"Over the winter, when the vines are dormant and without leaf, we graze the ewes and lambs in the vineyard," Rob said.
"The ewes and lambs work office hours.
"They go in at 9am and come out at 5pm. That way, they don't pug the ground. The ewes get no water during the day and because they're lactating, by 5pm they're looking for water and are ready to come out.
"There's a bit of manuring, but that's not a priority. The benefit is the sheep help graze the area and we do under-vine weeding once a year using an Italian disc weeder rather than a rotary hoe, which would pug the ground."
Rob said in spring the area under vines was turned over and composted, providing vital nitrogen.
"We lift the weeds, let them sit there for two to three days to wilt and till the ground back up again. This aerates the soil," he said.
The vineyard is under-sown with direct-drilled oats and topped up with pastures including clovers and ryegrass.
The vines are cane-pruned in late autumn-winter and a clay and sodium silica/sulphur mix is sprayed in early August to seal the vine cuts and smother any disease access. Sulphur is applied for mites at bud burst.
The vines are trained high off the ground to counter mildew.
Nine years of drought have also helped keep the vineyard disease-free.
The biodynamic preparation BD 500, a pure humus formed by burying manure in cow horns, is sprayed in autumn and winter.
Underground water is used to drip-irrigate the vines every 10 days in summer, with half to one megalitre of water applied at a time.
"We're not looking for high volume, probably 1.5 to two tonnes/ha.," Rob said.
"We want more small, concentrated, thick-skinned berries rather than big, blown-up, thin-skinned berries."
Originally sheep and cattle producers, the Bryans turned to wine grapes when their son, Shaun, returned to the farm.
"We felt it was better to develop what we had rather than take on debt and get extra acreage," Rob said.
Initially, the wine was made under contract but Rob and Pauline have since learnt to make their own under their Avonmore label.
Shaun, a graduate of winemaking courses at Dookie, is now also producing his own label, Dalara.
In a good year they'll harvest 40 tonne of fruit from 17,000 vines.
"We are able to pick when we want to now, so we can get the pH, acid and baume in balance," Rob said.
Pauline sets grapes fermenting to build yeasts.
"When the grapes are getting close to baume (13 per cent), we'll pick about 20 buckets and stamp them in a little vat every three to four hours for a week before they're ready to use," he said.
The Bryans sell through the Demeter company, Raw Wine, in Melbourne and at various farmers' markets.
They produce about 40 litres of grape-seed oil annually, using the spent marc or remaining pulp as compost or cattle feed.
They have recently opened a bed and breakfast.
All diesel engines on the farm use bio-diesel from the Bendigo Community Enterprise.
Rob also works off farm as a professional firefighter.
