Murray Now

If you venture 40 minutes along the back roads from either Barham, Deniliquin or Echuca-Moama you will come across a property that offers an adventure for the mind and the palate. Don and Jo Hearn, property owners of Restdown Wines originally met in London, and eventually made their way back to Don’s parents property to establish themselves on 20 acres in 1996.

“It was only a small area and Jo and I got to thinking that with no viticulture in the region this could be a good opportunity to establish a small number of grape vines,” Don explains, I studied viticulture and Jo originally a school teacher decided to leave her teaching career and study winemaking."

“In 2002 we built our underground winery. We now have around 10,000 grape vines and produce completely handmade wines from vine to bottle. Minimal intervention is our focus , so we avoid chemical fertilisers and pesticides.”

The other upside of this wonderful property is the surrounding natural bush land. With over 11,000 acres of native vegetation, Don and Jo often enjoy a walk on their property. As Don explains, “what culminated from our strolls on the property was an idea of allowing others to experience this, because the land has had minimal cropping done. It has kept a lot of the native vegetation, so you will see signs of natural as well as human heritage.”

“Signs of Aboriginal hearth and early pastoral settlement can be seen on the property. In the wetter seasons the filled lagoons, part of the old river system that existed around 40 thousand years ago attract an amazing abundance of birdlife and native animals.” “We thought there maybe funding available to restore this wonderful wetland area, and create a walking trail for the public to be able to appreciate this unique reserve and educate them on the ways of how a wetland works” Don said.

Don and Jo were successful with their funding application through the NSW Murray Wetlands Working Group which is now facilitated through Department of Environment Climate Change and Water (DECCW) NSW.
The walking trail is on private land but open to the public, giving bird watchers, historians, conservationists, school groups, nature lovers and holiday makers many opportunities for discovery.

Other regular visitors are the Australian National University who conduct wildlife surveys and have done so for the last three years and Murray Catchment Management Authority who carry out surveys on vegetation and plant management.

So if you are looking to expand your knowledge on farming practices, exposure to some of the resident goannas, rare bird species, and other Australian wildlife whilst relaxing and enjoying wine and local produce all in one day, then look no further than Restdown.

For further information or to contact Don or Jo Hearn please visit their website —> Restdown Wines