THE first batch of vodka has rolled off the bottling line at Victoria's newest distillery, in the state's northwest.
The Murray Valley Distillery at Robinvale is the brainchild of Dawid Ostrowski, who ambitiously claims he could produce up to 50 million bottles of vodka, gin, whisky and bourbon each year from locally grown grapes and grain.
Dawid, his brother Sebastian and their father, John, spent the past year converting the former McWilliams winery to a distillery.
Mr Ostrowski said they had installed what is thought to be Australia's largest pot still, custom-made for Gilbey's in the 1980s but never used, which they found in a storage shed in the Riverina.
They chose the Robinvale site because it was cheaper to upgrade than build a new plant and because of its proximity to prime horticulture and grain-growing areas.
"So, down the track, when we make our premium vodka we can use grain," he said.
"And when we go down the track to flavoured vodkas, we've got orange peel and other fruits in the area that we can use."
Launched this month, it retails through the local Fisher's IGA supermarket and has been adopted by some Melbourne bars and clubs.
He undertook a course in Scotland and made vodka there and in Poland as well as making bourbon in Kentucky, before embarking on the Robinvale project.
