Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard 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.

History

In 2009, Brown Brothers was asked to join Australian wine alliance

Australia's First Families of Wine Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW) is an Australian wine initiative to raise the profile of Australian wine to the world, showcasing a representative of its landmark wines and to highlight the quality and diversity of Australian wine. Est ...

a multimillion-dollar venture to help resurrect the fortunes of the $6 billion industry highlighting the quality and diversity of Australian wine.Simon Evans, The Australian Financial Review, Tuesday 18 August 2009, Page 61 The 12 member alliance includes Brown Brothers, Campbells, Taylors, DeBortoli, McWilliam’s,

Tahbilk Tahbilk Winery is a historic Australian winery with National Trust certification. It is located north of Melbourne between the townships of Seymour, Victoria, Seymour and Nagambie, Victoria, Nagambie in the Nagambie Lakes (wine), Nagambie Lake ...

, Tyrell’s, Yalumba,

D'Arenberg d'Arenberg is an Australian wine company founded in 1912. All of its vineyards are located in South Australia's McLaren Vale wine region, although some of the wines they make are produced from grapes sourced from the Adelaide Hills wine reg ...

, Howard Park, Jim Barry and Henschke. The main criteria are that the family-owned companies need to have a "landmark wine" in their portfolios listed under Langton’s Classification and/or 75% agreement by group that a wine is considered "iconic", must have the ability to do at least a 20-year vertical tasting, have a history going back a minimum of two generations, ownership of vineyards more than 50 years old and/or ownership of distinguished sites which exemplify the best of

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contex ...

, commitment to export and environmental best practice, appropriate cellar door experience, and be paid-up members of the Winemakers Federation of Australia. Brown Brother White Moscato

Grape varieties

Brown Brothers is known for including uncommon and novel grape varieties in their product line, including Cienna, Tarrango, and Mystique, alongside classic grapes. Brown Brothers has made wine from the following grape varieties over the years. * White: Arneis, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay, Chasselas,

Colombard Colombard (also known as French Colombard in North America) is a white French wine grape variety that is the offspring of Chenin blanc and Gouais blanc.winepros.com.au. This makes the grape the sibling of the Armagnac Meslier-Saint-François ...

, Crouchen,

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

, Sauvignon blanc, Gordo,

Marsanne Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...

, Moscato, Muscat of Alexandria (Lexia), Orange Muscat,

Pinot grigio Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

, Rhine Riesling,

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage ...

, Sultana, Sylvaner, Trebbiano, Verdelho, Viognier,

Vermentino Vermentino is a light-skinned wine grape variety, primarily found in Italian wine. It is widely planted in both Sardinia and Liguria (wine), Liguria, to some extent in Corsica, in Piedmont under the name Favorita, and in increasing amounts in Lan ...

, White Frontignac * Red: Aglianico,

Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high level ...

, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cienna,

Dolcetto Dolcetto ( , , ) is a black Italian wine grape variety widely grown in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The Italian word ''dolcetto'' means "little sweet one", but it is not certain that the name originally carried any reference to t ...

Durif Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington's Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, West Virginia, Ch ...

Graciano Graciano is a Spanish red wine grape that is grown primarily in Rioja. The vine produces a low yield that are normally harvested in late October. The wine produced is characterized by its deep red color, strong aroma and ability to age w ...

, Lagrein,

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...

, Marzemino, Merlot, Mystique,"Brown Brothers. A storied history of Australian wine innovation"
Wine Australia, 13 June 2017. Accessed 2021-02-08. Meunier,

Mondeuse Mondeuse noire () is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit ...

Nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the '' Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero ...

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

, Pinot noir, Ruby Cabernet, Sangiovese, Schioppettino,

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

, Tarrango, Tempranillo, Zinfandel

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 Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

& Tokay. *Table Wine: The table wines have ranged from dry to sweet, usually straight varietals, but occasionally blends such as

/ Cabernet,

/ Cabernet (SMC) *Dessert Wine: The dessert wines have included a blend of the Orange Muscat &

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. Brown Brothers are also a leader in King Valley Prosecco, and also blends of Lexia and Cienna for its Rosé, and also with natural flavourings. It is known as Zibbibo, a synonym for Muscat of Alexandria

Vineyards

Brown Brothers has vineyards in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

and

Tasmania, Australia ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

with a variety of climates and soil types. *Milawa, Victoria (Established: 1885 ) Varieties: Merlot,

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

, Cabernet Sauvignon,

& White Frontignac. *Mystic Park, Victoria (Established: 1968 ) Varieties: Cienna, Dolcetto, Tarrango, Orange Muscat,

, Crouchen, Shiraz,

& Chardonnay *Banksdale, Victoria (Established: 1994 ) Varieties: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot grigio, Viognier & Tempranillo *Kayena, Tasmania (Established: 1994) Varieties: Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet, Alvarinho, Viognier & Pinot noir *Heathcote, Victoria (Established: 1999 ) Varieties: Shiraz, Merlot,

, Sangiovese, Tempranillo,

, Dolcetto & Pinot grigio *Devil's Corner (Established: 2005) Varieties: Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer &

Savagnin Savagnin or Savagnin blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon blanc) is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and vi ...

*The Hazards, Tasmania

References

External links

Brown Brothers website

Australia's first families of Wine
{{Authority control Wineries in Victoria (Australia) Privately held companies of Australia Food and drink companies established in 1889 1889 establishments in Australia Rural City of Wangaratta Family-owned companies of Australia