Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard

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Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard
Type	Private
Founded	1889
Headquarters	Milawa, Victoria, Australia
Industry	Wine
Products	Tarrango, Orange Muscat & Flora, Cienna, Dolcetto & Syrah, Spatlese Lexia, Shiraz etc
Website	[1]

Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard (often referred to as simply Brown Brothers or Browns) is a family owned wine company based in Milawa, Victoria, Australia. Brown Brothers was founded in 1889 by John Francis Brown and continues to be owned and operated by his descendants on the original property. Brown Brothers makes wine from a wide range of grape varieties and into a range of styles.

[edit] History

The property on which Brown Brothers stands (36°27.2′S 146°25.8′E) was bought at the first land auction on the Oxley Plains by John Graham (1815-1873). A vineyard and orchard was established along with a Canadian style barn to store hay and grain.

George Harry Brown (1835-1913) married John Graham's daughter Rebecca (1845-1915) in 1864 and they moved (see The Farmers' Five) onto the property after John Graham's death.

John Francis Brown (1867-1943) planted around 10 acres of mainly Riesling, Muscat and Shiraz in 1885. John F. Brown established the Brown Brothers business and made the first wine in 1889 in the barn. The vineyard was replanted in 1916 & 1917 to combat the spread of phylloxera and by 1920 totaled 33 acres including Riesling, Tokay, Chasselas, Shiraz, Muscat, Mondeuse, Semillon, Graciano and Cabernet Sansay (Franc).

John Charles Brown (1915-2004) joined the business in 1933 in time to witness Botrytis cinerea (Noble Rot) for the first time at Milawa in 1934. John C. Brown married Patricia Mathews (1915-2004) in 1939 and produced four sons; John, Peter, Ross and Roger. In 1950 a property at Everton was purchased, cleared and planted.

John Graham Brown joined the business in 1958 and became the winemaker. The other three brothers followed and took their own places in the business; Peter in the vineyards, Ross in Marketing and Roger in vine propagation and harvesting. Peter was instrumental in establishing the Mystic Park vineyard near Kangaroo Lake, Victoria.

John Andrew Brown joined the business in 1994 and was followed by his sister Cynthia in 1996. John specialised in Information Technology and Cynthia in Human Resource Management.

[edit] Wines

Brown Brothers makes wine from a very wide range of grape varieties in a wide range of styles. The Patricia range offers the highest quality, the Varietal range is generally available, and the Cellar Door range includes small batches and experimental wines, only available at Milawa.

[edit] Patricia Range

The Patricia range of wine are dedicated to Patricia Brown (1915-2004) and include a Sparkling Wine, a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Shiraz, a Merlot and a Botrytis Riesling.

[edit] Grape Varieties

Brown Brothers has made a specialty of exploring the characteristics of a huge range of grape varieties. Most of the varieties have been made into single varietal wines, occasionally there have been blends, some (Riesling, Shiraz)have been made into a number of different styles and Brown Brothers has even successfully pioneered some new varieties (Tarrango, Cienna).

Brown Brothers has made wine from the following grape varieties over the years.

• White: Arneis, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Chasselas, Colombard, Crouchen, Flora, Gewürtztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Gordo, Marsanne, Moscato, Orange Muscat, Pinot Grigio, Rhine Riesling, Roussanne, Sultana, Sylvaner, Trebbiano, Verdelho, Viognier, Vermintino, White Frontinac
• Red: Aglianico, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Dolcetto, Durif, Graciano, Lagrein, Malbec, Marzemino, Merlot, Meunier, Mondeuse, Nebbiolo, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Ruby Cabernet, Sangiovese, Schioppettino, Shiraz, Tarrango, Tempranillo, Zinfandel

[edit] Wine Styles

Fortified: The fortified wine has been in a range of styles including Tawny Port, Ruby Port, Vintage Port, Flor Fino Sherry, Sweet Sherry, Muscat & Tokay.
Table Wine: The table wines have ranged from dry to sweet, usually straight varietals, but occasionally blends such as Shiraz/Cabernet, Shiraz/Mondeuse/Cabernet (SMC)
Dessert Wine: The dessert wines have included a blend of the Orange Muscat & Flora varieties and a Botrytis Riesling labeled Noble Riesling.
Sparkling Wine: The Sparkling wines are mostly in the Méthode Champenoise with grapes from the Whitlands vineyard but there has also been other styles such as a Sparkling Shiraz.

[edit] Vineyards

All of Brown Brothers vineyards are in Victoria, Australia and cover a variety of climates and soil types.

[edit] Milawa

Established: 1885
Location: (36°27.2′S 146°25.6′E)
Varieties: Merlot, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Dolcetto, Graciano, Mondeuse, Shiraz & White Frontignac.

[edit] Everton

Established: 1950 - abt 1976
Location: (36°24.20′S 146°33.31′E)
Varieties: Cabernet Savignon/Shiraz

[edit] Mystic Park

Established: 1968
Location: (35°36′S 143°45′E)
Varieties: Cienna, Dolcetto, Tarrango, Orange Muscat, Flora, Crouchen, Shiraz, Colombard & Chardonnay

[edit] Whitlands

Established: 1982
Location: (36°47′S 146°21.65′E)
Varieties: Riesling, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris & Cabernet Sauvignon

[edit] Banksdale

Established: 1994
Location: (36°39.6′S 146°18.68′E)
Varieties: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Grigio, Viognier & Tempranillo

[edit] Heathcote

Established: 1999
Location: (36°28.3′S 144°47.07′E)
Varieties: Shiraz, Merlot, Durif, Malbec, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Dolcetto & Pinot Grigio

[edit] External links

• Brown Brothers website