The 2017 vintage of the McAuley Park Cabernet Sauvignon was launched at Centennial Hall on Friday 7 September. The evening was a wonderful success with over 150 people in attendance. At the launch our wine program patron, Suzanne Halliday, spoke of the quality of the vintage, while special guest, Channel 9 newsreader Peter Hitchener, spoke about the amazing opportunities our students have in being part of the winemaking process over the course of a full year.
The 40 students who created the wine were a key part of the launch, with Ivy Ferguson-Mayer, Antony Hawkins, Abigail Van Bergeijk and Molly Henderson all taking part in the official presentation. The students, their families and friends, staff and other guests were treated to delicious canapes and desserts from our VCAL hospitality students. Several of our star musicians, including the College band, entertained throughout the evening and there was a wonderful display of works from our Art students for guests to enjoy.
Students are involved in every stage of wine production at MLMC. They manage the vine canopy and check for pests, take yield estimates, monitor sugar, flavour and acid levels, harvest through the school holidays, bottling the wine and design the wine labels. Our wine won a bronze medal for the 2016 vintage at the Victorian Wine Show, up against more than 80 wineries (all of them commercial operations). It has also won bronze at the Eltham wine show, the largest amateur wine show in Victoria.
The vineyard has been at the school for about 20 years, but this is the fourth year of the student-created wine program and the fourth vintage produced. The 226 plants on approximately half an acre in the school grounds on the doorstep of the Yarra Valley yield about 300 bottles annually.
Yering Station has supported the College for four years, supplying wine analysis and barrels. Its chief winemaker, Willy Lunn, hosts tours of Yering Station to link the students’ classroom learning about biosecurity and the full winemaking process. Establishing a partnership with Yering Station has allowed motivated young students like Abigail to explore future careers while completing school. Abigail (Year 11 Orange) works in Yering Station’s cellar.
“The wine program has exposed me to career opportunities I would have otherwise not considered. I enjoy the Agriculture program in our school and knew I wanted to find a career in this industry, but hadn’t considered winemaking until studying it at school,” Abigail said. “The wine program gave me some experience that I could build upon with work at amazing wineries such as Yering Station. My career aspirations are definitely wine related as I enjoy learning about the process and find it such an interesting career pathway.”
Ivy (Year 11 Jade) is another student who is part of the wine program with industry connections. Her parents operate Bloody Hill Wines in Healesville. Her father, Timo Mayer, was once a winemaker for De Bortoli and for many years was a winemaker for Gembrook Hill.
Ivy says she aspires to use what she has learnt at the school farm beyond the College, but for now one aspect of the program she enjoys is the teamwork. “Everyone gets excited and we are never short of a helping hand. From students, to teachers, even parents. It produces a great community which is what I think makes our MLMC Agriculture program such a great one.”
We would like to thank our wonderful sponsors for allowing our students to have this real life experience whilst at school. And, in particular, we would like to thank the students who through this project have shown the tremendous capacity of our youth.
