The Victorian Pinot Noir Workshop is open to all producers of Victorian Pinot Noir.  Established in 2001, the focus of the workshop is to improve the breed of Pinot Noir production in Victoria.  It was recognised that there are many facets to the styles of Pinot produced and this needed to be respected and encouraged.  The workshop was developed to provide a forum for Pinot Noir producers to discuss different aspects of production in an environment that enabled the sharing of confidential information with the knowledge that fellow winemakers would benefit from the information but maintained the confidentiality.

The structure of the workshop is quite simple.  Victorian Pinot Noir producers are invited to register for the event and then submit a current vintage, unbottled sample of their wine to Vintessential Laboratories for analysis.  After registering, they are also required to complete a data summary of the wine’s viticultural and vinous provenance.  They then attend the workshop with samples of the same wines.  These are presented blind alongside other samples and then discussed individually amongst the delegates.  Structured around these tastings we also have several other sessions.  These vary year to year according to the focus of the workshop, and have included an insightful look at Pinot Noir from other countries; site selection and planting a premium Pinot Noir vineyard; and Biodynamics.  Two of the regular highlights are the current release tasting session of each delegates wines and the spectacular Burgundy tasting hosted by James Halliday.

A group of passionate winemakers who believe that Victoria can produce a great cross-section of Pinot Noir. By pooling our collective knowledge and experiences in this forum we hope to improve the breed of Victorian Pinot Noir.