Chateau Mildura

The history of Chateau Mildura is inextricably bound up with that of winemaking along the Murray River in the northwest corner of Vic. The fathers of irrigation, the founders of Mildura and Renmark (across the border in SA), were the Chaffey Brothers, who built the triple-gable brick winery in 1892. The story of the Chaffeys is an epic one, marked by as many failures as successes. After table wine production ceased in 1910, the building was used for the production of brandy until the '50s. In 2002 it was sold by Beringer Blass to Lance Milne, a local fourth-generation horticulturist. He has incorporated a boutique winery in a small area of the building, the remainder of which will be opened as a museum dedicated to the Chaffeys and their pioneering work. -JAMES HALLIDAY