All Saints Estate is located in Wahgunyah on the southern bank of the Murray River in the north-east of Victoria, Australia. The name (Engl. All Saints) was given after a parish in the Scottish county of Caithness. Its origins lie in 1864, when a piece of land was bought and vines planted by two friendly Scottish immigrants, George Sutherland Smith (1830-1906) and John Banks (1833-1876). The trained civil engineers had previously carried out various projects on behalf of the public, such as building a bridge and churches. The first attempt as vintners went wrong, however, and the two also engaged in other ventures such as riverboat trading by paddle steamer. The second attempt was made in 1869 with new vineyards and the construction of a wine cellar. In 1888, a castle was built on the model of the famous Scottish Castle of Mey (now owned by Queen Elizabeth). After the early death of his partner, G. S. Smith concentrated mainly on viticulture and was the first Australian winemaker to win gold medals at world exhibitions (Wien 1873, Paris 1878, Melbourne 1880).
David Banks Smith (1864-1937) successfully continued his father's work. In the early 20th century phylloxera arrived in Australia and destroyed many vineyards. All Saints was one of the few vineyards to survive and was replanted with grafted vines in 1912. In 1922, the farm reached its largest size with 1,100 hectares. Then followed severe setbacks due to economic depression and difficult market conditions in Australia. In 1967, the fourth generation of the family, Ian, George and Peter Smith, took over the helm. In the 1980s, the estate slid into major financial problems and was bought by Brown Brothers in 1992 (as was the neighbouring St Leonards Vineyard) and the run-down property was renovated. It was eventually purchased by one of the Brown brothers - Peter Brown (1945-2005) in 1999. After his death, the three children Eliza (CEO), Angela (Communication Manager) and Nicholas Brown (Vineyards and Cellar) took over the business and are also part owners of Brown Brothers.
The estate comprises 303 hectares of land with 109 hectares of vines. The white wine varieties Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Marsanne, Muscadelle, Muscat Blanc, Muscat d'Alexandrie, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sémillon and Viognier are grown, as well as the red wine varieties Brown Muscat, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Durif, Merlot, Ruby Cabernet, Sangiovese and Shiraz (Syrah). The vineyards are cultivated according to the principles of biodynamic viticulture. Only the best grapes are harvested by hand. After gentle pressing with a 100-year-old basket press, vinification is carried out in the traditional way with as little intervention as possible. Great importance is attached to terroir and variety-specific wines. The wide range of products includes still wines, dessert wines, fortified wines in port style and bottle-fermented sparkling wines.
