Our Winemaker

A natural DIYer, Greg Jarratt relishes the challenge of making things. Whether it involves soldering jewellery, or making award-winning St Huberts wines, Greg is very creative and hands on.

Following a Bachelor of Applied Science in Wine at Charles Sturt University and vintage work around Australia and in Bordeaux, Greg was appointed Assistant Winemaker and Cellar Hand at Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley in 1995 with the esteemed James Halliday as a mentor. During his three-year tenure, Greg went back to Bordeaux in 1996 and then Languedoc-Roussillon working for La Perouse wines in 1997. In 1998, he moved to the Hunter Valley and made wines for Lindeman’s, Tulloch and Hungerford Hill.

Nonetheless he had developed a taste for the Yarra Valley, so in 2001 Greg returned to Coldstream Hills and in 2006 was appointed Winemaker of St Huberts. Greg is a Len Evans Tutorial scholar, and has been an Associate Judge and Judge at wine shows including the Canberra National Wine Show and the Royal Sydney & Melbourne Wine Shows.

Only 45 kilometres east of Melbourne’s CBD, the Yarra Valley is recognised as one of Australia’s foremost cool climate wine producing regions.

The St Huberts Vineyard is located at the gateway of the beautiful region on the Valley floor. With a long history of being renowned for Cabernet Sauvignon, other varieties include Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Roussanne. The oldest vines were planted in 1966 and generally yield low crops with intense fruit flavour, depth and concentration.

At an elevation of 50 to 80 metres, the St Huberts Vineyard sits on a gently sloping site facing north-west, maximising sun exposure and resulting in generous, fuller styled wines. Rainfall is slightly winter dominant and around 750 millimetres per annum. The soil is well drained grey clay loam over a clay layer of 500 to 600 millimetres in depth.

Vineyard area is approximately 21 hectares and the majority is trellised to Vertical Shoot Positioning. Works are frequently undertaken to rejuvenate the vineyard in order to get the varieties, clones and rootstocks right and to re-invest in the future.

St Huberts also sources from a selection of other premium growers in the Yarra Valley and Victoria to allow for greater diversity of grape varieties and styles.

St Huberts was originally founded in 1862 by winemaking pioneer and Swiss immigrant Charles Hubert de Castella, who helped position the region as a premium wine producing area.

By 1876 the St Huberts vineyard was over 80 hectares including 28 hectares of Hermitage (Shiraz), eight hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and four hectares of Marsanne. By the late 1800s the winery had established itself as one of the grandest wineries in the state,  winning the Emperor of Germany’s Grand Prize at the 1881 Melbourne International Exhibition, and a Grand Prix award at the 1889 Paris Exposition – both phenomenal achievements for Australian wine.

Around the Great Depression in the 1920s all vineyards in the Yarra Valley reverted to other agricultural pursuits, nonetheless St Hubert’s was one of the first to replant in 1966, championing the rejuvenation of the Valley as one of Australia’s great cool climate regions.

The St Huberts legacy continues to this day in the hands of experienced winemaker Greg Jarratt. Greg has led St Huberts since 2006, working with the vineyard and winery team to honour the high standards set at St Huberts since its inception over 150 years ago. Extending the portfolio in 2016, St Huberts released a single vineyard Blanc de Noir sparkling wine in addition to launching The Stag Shiraz and Chardonnay.

Charles Hubert de Castella named St Huberts not after himself, but after St Hubert the patron saint of the hunt – a 7th century nobleman who turned his life around after an encounter with a magnificent stag carrying a shining cross between his antlers.

In tribute to his patron saint, de Castella decided that the wines of St Huberts would bear the emblem of the stag with the cross between its antlers, a tradition that continues to this day via the St Huberts logo.