The team behind Ten Minutes by Tractor don’t make wines for export. They just makes wines they like and if people want to buy them all the better. Which is certainly the case for Martin and Karen Speddding who have been driving this particular tractor on a road to success over the last few years.
Next month sees 10 of the leading wineries and producers from Australia’s Mornington Peninsula region make the trip to a series of events including its key London trade tasting on September 6. As well as Sam Coverdale at Polperro will be founders and winemakers from Crittenden Estate, Kooyong, Mooroduc Estate, Ocean Eight, Paringa Estate, Polperro, Port Phillip Estate, Stonier, Ten Minutes by Tractor and Yabby Lake Vineyard. All showing their styles of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Shiraz that are synonymous with the peninsula.
Over the next few weeks leading up to the tasting we will be featuring each of the producers involved. Here’s Martin Spedding of Ten Minutes by Tractor and his take on the region and what it has to offer.
Tell us a little history about the winery?
Our winery started in 1997 with three family owned vineyards in Main Ridge, all ten minutes by tractor apart. Over the past 15 years, Martin and Karen Spedding have been the driving force that have taken Ten Minutes By Tractor on to become one of the leading cool climate wineries in Australia. Ten Minutes By Tractor has maintained a relentless focus on quality and the production of single vineyard and single block wines that reflect their different aspects, slopes, soils, altitude and cool ocean breezes which flow from Bass Strait, Western Port and Port Phillip through the valleys that crisscross the Mornington Peninsula.
Our journey started as an exploration of the three original vineyards in Main Ridge, today we are helping to lead the development of new vineyard architecture, close planted vineyards, innovations in organic cultivation and viticulture and helping to continue the development of the Mornington Peninsula region as a leading producer of high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Australia.
The stunning landscape of Ten Minutes by Tractor
What types of wine are you making for export and why?
We have been exporting our flagship Pinots and Chardonnays to the UK for over 16 years. The UK wine market is one of the most diverse and sophisticated in the world, a place where there is a genuine passion for discovery and acceptance of wines from all around the world. We have found that there is a real understanding about what cool climate Australian wines like Ten Minutes by Tractor have to offer and we love being able to put our wines in the hands of wine lovers like that, who judge wines on their merits and who appreciate the elegance, purity and complexity of the wines produced on the Mornington Peninsula.
We don’t make wines for export. We just seek out like minded wine lovers from around the world, people who we know (and hope!) will love and enjoy the wines we make for our friends and ourselves, from our special places on the Mornington Peninsula.
What do you think makes the Mornington Peninsula unique and worth telling the world about?
There’s nothing like the Mornington Peninsula. A cool climate region on the south eastern reaches of mainland Australia with a combination of maritime influence, altitude, and sea breezes that moderating the climate and help to provide ideal cool climate conditions for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. They also help create an incredibly diverse tapestry of micro climates and expressive vineyard sites that find their voice best in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The results are wines that have great elegance, purity and energy and complex and alluring flavours. Wines that sing with food, that compliment fine food and subtle flavours and that reward patience.
We want our wines to be expressions not just of the Mornington Peninsula but of the terroir unique to each of our vineyard sites, best exemplified by our single vineyard wines.
Did anyone mention how long it takes by tractor?
What makes it different to other Australian wine regions?
We are a cool climate region with a combination of maritime influence, altitude, and sea breezes that all aid in moderating the climate to provide a slow and long ripening period. Our region is small and is dominated by a large number of small boutiques wineries that are focused on high quality wine production.
The Mornington Peninsula landscape is beautiful, it is incredibly diverse and is home to many of the best family-owned boutique wineries in Australia. It is also home to some of the best regional restaurants and boutique food production in Australia. A strong food and wine culture. Dominated by family owned, artisan, handmade, sustainable, farm gate and quality.
Mornington is a wine and food lovers paradise. We are just one hour from the State capital Melbourne, itself Australia’s food mecca.
What perception do you think UK buyers have about Mornington Peninsula?
Over the last 16 years we have seen a growing number of Mornington Peninsula wine producers enter the UK wine market, their small scale and smaller production has meant that for many UK buyers it has taken time to get a full picture of what Mornington has to offer. Hopefully the perception today is the reality, which is that it is a place where some of the very best small-scale wines are produced. It is also the home of some of the best Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in the country. A place that is unique and has a special place amongst the 60 odd wine regions in Australia.
The winery has an acclaimed restaurant as well as top class wines
What do you hope to achieve by the tasting and events in London and UK in September?
It is a unique opportunity to taste the wines and meet with a gathering of many of the very best wineries from the region. It is an opportunity for us to show new wines to our friends and talk to them about the exciting things that we’re doing.
Of course, it’s also an opportunity to show the wines to people that may have heard of the region but not yet had a chance to taste our wines or be able to taste the wines in such a structured but relaxed setting, where there will be lively discussion and interaction with all the winemakers and their wines and gain an understanding of what makes Mornington Peninsula so special.
Which types of importers/ restaurant/ channels in the UK do you think your wines are best suited to and why?
Good wine needs good food; we love to see our wines being enjoyed in the best British restaurants, so people can learn more about our wines and enjoy them alongside high quality food.
Similarly, our wines have always been made to share, and there is nothing more special that opening a beautiful bottle of wine to enjoy with family and friends at home. High quality independent wine stores are a very important channel for wines like ours.
Why should a UK buyer come and visit your stand?
Come to our stand, enjoy some of the Peninsula’s finest Pinot and Chardonnay, talk to us about what it is we’re doing in our special corner of the world, and of course tell us what you think
Ten Minutes By Tractor is enjoying making a name for itself in exports markets as it does in Autralia
What other markets do you export your wine to? And why?
We export to the USA, Canada, China, Sweden, Canada and Denmark. We just seek out like minded wine lovers from around the world, people who we know (and hope!) will love and enjoy the wines we make for our friends and ourselves, from our special places on the Mornington Peninsula.
What opportunities do you think there still are for premium wines from Australia?
Australia is a premium wine destination. As the world becomes smaller and there is greater access to Australian wines, we will see both consumers and trade discover the breadth of quality wines being produced in Australia.
Many of Australia’s best wine regions and wineries are yet to be discovered by most wine consumers, it is only in recent years that small Australian wineries could access the sales and export channels that the large industrial wineries could. There is so much to discover and learn about the quality and value of premium Australian wines, especially from smaller wine regions such as the Mornington Peninsula. A region that until relatedly recently sold all its wines domestically.
The Australian wine story is only half told. The best is yet to come.
What are you most looking forward to about coming to the UK?
From business point of view: Catching up with existing customers and meeting new ones. It’s also I great opportunity to chat about some projects we have in the works, building a new winery and talking about the development of our new high-density vineyard – the first organic HD vineyard of its type on the Peninsula and the largest in Australia.
From personal point of view: London is like a second home, I love coming back every year to meet so many great friends and colleagues in this great industry. It all starts with a long walk in the best walking city in the world!
- If you would like to meet the team from Ten Minute by Tractor and the other producers then the Mornington Peninsula Winemaker tasting takes place between 1pm-5pm at Australia House, The Strand, London, WC2B 4LA.
