At Long Gully Estate, pride is taken in producing the best possible distinctive, cool climate Yarra Valley wines, at very competitive prices.

What began as a weekend retreat for the owners, Reiner and Irma Klapp, has now become the beginning of a whole new life for them. When they purchased their 45 hectare property in the picturesque foothills of the Great Dividing Range on 'Long Gully Road', just west of Healesville, they had no idea that 25 years later, they would be major contributors to the rebirth of the wine industry in the Yarra Valley. For the first ten years, they grazed cattle on their weekend hooby farm but by 1982, could no longer ignore the enormous potential for their property to produce top quality grapes, equal to the finest in Australia.

The initial planting was a total of only 2.2 hectares consisting of Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Further plantings of Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Voignier, have now brought the total plantings to nearly 30 hectares. Long Gully Estate would be now seen as one of the larger boutique vineyards in the Yarra Valley, crushing between 200 to 300 tonnes of grapes every vintage.

The aspect of the vineyard is on the western facing slope of the 'Long Gully' valley which aids in the drainage of cold air on frosty mornings (katabatic winds). The daily steady (usually from the S.E.) wind up the Gully has proved to be an added bonus in the fight against vine disease such as downy mildew, powdery mildew and botrytis as it keeps the foliage cool and dry in moist, humid conditions.

The average yearly rainfall is between 800mm and 1000mm and occurs mainly between winter and spring. If supplementary water is required prior to harvest during a dry or stressful ripening period, a trickle/drip irrigation system is in place for harmonious grape ripening.

Long Gully Estate's philosophy is, that to produce exceptional wines, you must first produce top quality fruit. The vines at Long Gully Estate tell the story. Much hard work is bestowed upon the vines as well as tender loving care. A number of tasks are still done by hand in the vineyard such as some cultivation, pruning and some picking are all carried out by thinking people; consequently much more expensive than automation but not when you put quality as your first consideration. Wherever possible, Long Gully prefers to use organic methods in their vineyard so as to reduce the need for herbicides and pesticides. Peter Payten, a highly sought after contract viticulturist in the valley, assists Dean Stanford (the Long Gully viticulturist) with the latest viticulture methodologies and techniques. Peter was the Long Gully viticulturist for nearly 10 years before going solo and knows the Long Gully vineyard 'like the back of his hand'. The responsibility for growing the outstanding fruit which is to be provided to the winemaker, and daily maintenance of the vineyard, is carried out by Dean Stanford. Dean joined the Long Gully team in 2004 and brought with him a diploma in horticulture as well as a degree in viticulture from the Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. Dean's abilities, experience and dilegence has provided Long Gully with the secure knowledge that the best possible fruit is being produced at the Estate every year. The trellising systems utilized on the vines are mainly 'Scott Henry', 'Arched cane VSP' and 'Modified Ballerina'. These varied trellising systems suit different grape varieties to help ripen the fruit at harvest time. The greatest asset to Long Gully Estate is the quality of it's grapes and as of 2002, Long Gully made the difficult choice to massively reduce crop levels so that the limited fruit produced by the vines, will be the richest and best quality possible to provide our winemaker with outstanding fruit to make outstanding wines.

For about 12 years, Peter Florance was the winemaker at Long Gully Estate however Peter left Long Gully Estate in 2004 to pursue a personal venture in beer brewing. Winemaking at Long Gully Estate is now the responsibility of Luke Houlihan; also a graduate of the Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. It was a background in horticulture combined with a history of working in pubs that held frequent Winemaker’s dinners, which was the original inspiration that led Luke into winemaking. Luke’s first vintage was at De Bortoli’s in the Yarra Valley. He then spent 2 years as the assistant winemaker at Boynton’s Winery, located at Bright in the Ovens Valley. Prior to Luke joining the Long Gully team in 2004, he had completed several vintages as the assistant winemaker at Yarra Ridge Winery in the Yarra Valley, helping him solidify a sound understanding of cool climate wine styles. Prior to gaining experience at Yarra Ridge, Luke was actually the assistant winemaker at Long Gully Estate so Luke has now come full circle and is back again at Long Gully but this time, as chief winemaker. Luke has had experience in making premium cool climate wines for over 9 years now and has already produced some awesome wines for Long Gully. This is Luke's first appointment as Head Winemaker and all at Long Gully are very excited at the influx of the latest techniques, ideas and equipment to help maintain the Estate's reputation as an innovative, premium wine producer. Luke has a strong desire to secure a name for himself within the wine industry; a combination of Luke and Dean's expertise together with the latest technologies and equipment, has provided Long Gully with a recipe for success and a bright outlook for the future.

Long Gully Estate has primarily 3 product ranges/quality; the 'Premium Range' labels and a new 'super premium' range known as their 'Signature Series'. The 'Signature Series' range is only produced in years wheen the conditions in the vineyard have provided the winemaker with exquisite and well above average grapes. Due to the very high quality and high cost to produce the 'Signature Series' wines, there will only ever be a limited production of each variety so watch out for the Long Gully 'Signature Series'; they are in high demand & limited supply. Long Gully Estate have produced twenty five vintages to date which have already received both local and international accolades for their quality and value. This quality is guaranteed to be 100% Long Gully Estate as not only are the grapes grown on the property, but at no stage does the fruit leave the winery until it becomes a finished product. Apart from a small portion of select Shiraz grapesprovided by a premium contract grower in Heathcote, most Long Gully wines are made from fruit grown at their Estate in the Yarra Valley. Long Gully is almost totally self sufficient and they even provide some contract bottling and wine making services for neighboring vineyards and wineries.

Wine production on the Estate employs both traditional and newer technologies. Although the cost of establishing the winery has been extremely high, it is only with the best equipment, methodologies and people that the best wines can be made. Within the cleverly designed winery at Long Gully (designed by REPCO's 'Head of Engineering' Robert Sword - retired & George Campbell - retired) are housed a brand new 5 tonne Sutter airbag press, a 'vinimatic' fermentation vessel and one of the most advanced crusher / destemmers available today; a Diemme Kappa 15 crusher / destemmer. The newly aquired Sutter airbag press and Diemme crusher/ destemmer are the latest in technology from Switzerland and Italy and allows the winemaker to delicately manipulate the crushing, destemming and pressing processes so the best possible juice quality may be extracted from the grapes to subsequently make the best wines possible. The 'vinimatic' is used only for the fermentation of the red grapes as it brings out the pigments and flavours. Traditionally, fermentation tanks are stationary or 'static' but the 'vinimatic' is mounted horizontally and rotates on an axis to assist in mixing the skins throughout the fermenting mass. The gentle rotating action of the 'vinimatic' also avoids heavy maceration of the berries and assists in reducing extraction of harsh and bitter tannins. Most Long Gully Estate wines are aged in French oak casks and barrels, approximately 30% of which are replaced each year. Experimentation with casks of varying 'toast' is also carried out. (Toast refers to the fire-induced porosity of the casks interior and may be 'light', 'medium' or 'heavy'). French oak is used from the French forests of Allier, Nevers, Trouchais, Limousine, Bertrange, and Vosges and a smaller proportion of American oak is also used. Recently, Long Gully has also been experimenting with Hungarian oak to explore the varying complexities of oak influence from around the world.

Modern, in fact the latest state of the art technology is also employed to put the precious juice into the bottles. The Long Gully automated bottling-line will fill up to 2800 bottles per hour, and is the only one of its kind in Australia. The bottling-line prototype was developed in by GAI in Italy and was purchased in Stuttgart Germany at the " Intervitis" wine exhibition in 1989. At Long Gully Estate there is no compromise - They only employ the best ingredients, technology and methodologies... at every stage.

Marketing and promotion of Long Gully wines is conducted by Reiner and Irma's son Oliver. Via family association, Oliver has been involved with every facet of the winery since it began and he gave up his career as a flying instructor for the families passion; boutique wine production. The administration at Long Gully is managed by Reiner's wife Irma (hence 'Irma's Cabernet' - a Long Gully 'Flagship'). Michael Predl and Richard Kilpatrick make up the sales team at Long Gully Estate. Michael was the store manager for Elwood Cellars for several years prior to joining the Long Gully sales team and he now looks after the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. In addition to having worked at various bottleshops and pubs accross Australia, Richard was a Steward in the Royal Australian Navy for several years and now helps to sell & promote the Long Gully philosophy around the North Western suburbs of Melbourne and Geelong. Richard was recently promoted to sales manager for Long Gully.

While Long Gully Estate has established a firm base in Australia, they are currently also exporting to the U. K., Switzerland, Singapore, Vietnam and now exploring opportunities in parts of Asia including China and Korea.

Long Gully Estate is not any one person, it is a boutique family owned and run winery and vineyard, comprised of young and enthusiastic people with a love of the grape and a will to produce a wine that is the best of its type.

Long Gully Estate produces some of the finest wines from the Yarra Valley -
They have achieved worldwide recognition including having been awarded;
5 Trophies - 50 Gold Medals - 66 Silver Medals - 152 Bronze Medals -

The Long Gully Motto...

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DRINK BAD WINE!