-34.6232°N; 150.2670°W
In 1998, Nerio and his son, Marco, decided to take their passion and interest for good quality wines and started the St Maur Wines, a single estate which produces small batches.
Located in the heart of one of Australia’s newest appellations, the Southern Highlands is ideally situated to produce high quality wines.
Since planting , St Maur’s philosophy of making luxury wine in harmony with the environment begins in the soil of the 16 acre vineyard, where Pinot Noir (8 acres), Cabernet Sauvignon (5 acres) and Merlot (3 acres) vines are farmed in a sustainable program of natural cultivation that result in healthier vine.
Starting with a clean slate allowed us to take advantage of a wealth of knowledge accumulated in Australia and Italy of viticulture. Soil preparation, density of planting, trellis systems and selection of appropriate rootstock and clones were just some of the aspects of vineyard innovation we applied in each specific soil type and microclimate.
In 2003, St Maur produced it first vintage, where five years where dedicated to tending the vines. The vineyard and its wines (where the volume is capped approximately at 1800 dozen bottles per year) gain such popularity among known Australia Sommeliers that the St Maur wines were picked by top Sydney restaurants.
The good news for those wanting a lot more of St Maur is that in 2016 the vineyard is opening an on-site member and their guests drinking room to enjoy the longest of lunches. The plan is to serve guests with four or five courses paired with St Maur wine from 12.30pm-5pm.
Our Name & the Legacy
St Maur started by Mr Everest York Seymour as a Guernsey Stud and building a state of the art milking facilities. On his death the farm continued as a dairy farm by a local businessman and Councillor. In 1974 Nerio and Mara from Sydney bought the property with a view of one day moving to the farm full time. After a number of years of milking the dairy was closed and Angus cattle replaced the Guernsey and Friesian cows. In 1998, 16 acres were dedicated to the vineyard.
To maintain the legacy of the stud farm and beyond, Nerio & Marco decided to retain the St Maur and carry-on the heritage.
The Vineyard Geography
“Designated an official wine region in 1999 by the Geographical Indication Committee of Australia, the Southern Highlands wine region is situated approx 120km south west of Sydney along the Great Dividing Range in the Wingecarribee Shire of NSW. The district is centred around the townships of Mittagong, Bowral, Berrima, Bundanoon, Exeter, Sutton Forest and Moss Vale and has a rich agriculture, cattle, sheep and dairying history back to the early 1800’s.
Though there are records pointing to table grape vineyards and a modest wine production in the district in 1886, there was little viticulture during the early 20th century, and the current wine history of the region dates from the early 1980.
The Southern Highlands main defining theme for its designation as a wine region is its cool climate and high altitude vineyards which produce world class cool climate wines of distinction.” – Southern Highlands Tourism
The vineyard is spread over 16 acres, 700 meter above sea level, dedicated to growing quality north-facing vines. St Maur is blessed with rich volcanic soil, generous rainfall and a cool climate which acts as a catalyst to allow the grapes to ripen slowly.
Our grapes are harvested in mid to late autumn and prune heavily to control leaf growth, limiting the grape quantity but produces a more intensely flavoured grape. This is specifically done to help the wine maker to create a regionally distinct and vineyard expressive wines year – on – year.
