Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is quickly emerging as one of Australia’s leading cool-climate wine regions.
Brothers Michael and Tony Lee saw the potential early on, and started to plant vines two decades ago.
“Pinot Noir is the wine we’re best known for and, as a cool climate region, we grow many varieties that are well suited to this area,” says winemaker Michael sitting on the deck of their winery, Foxeys Hangout.
“We make a bit of Pinot Gris as well as a bit of Shiraz but mainly it's Pinot Noir, and a lot of Chardonnay,” his brother Tony adds.
Although nearly all their wine is sold locally, via the cellar door, many peninsula restaurants and bottle shops also stock their range.
That’s partly the result of cultivating good relationships with the local food and wine community.
A Lifetime in Hospitality
Brothers Michael and Tony Lee planted their first vineyard in 1997. Source: Supplied
“I did my apprenticeship with a Chinese-Singaporean chef, in Melbourne,” says Tony pin-boning an Atlantic salmon as he talks.
“And then my brother and I ran a gastropub, The Argo (in South Yarra).
"But by the time we were in our 30’s with wives and kids, we were less interested in going out to bars after midnight.”
So the pair sold up and bought land on the peninsula, close to a site from which the business takes its name.
Local History Inspires a Brand
The tradition of hanging dead foxes from a tree near the site of the vineyard in the 1950s inspired the name Foxeys Hangout. Source: Supplied
“Two fox trappers ran a competition to see who could catch the most foxes in one week,” says Michael.
“They were hanging their kill in a gum tree in Balnarring, and so it became a really famous iconic landmark.”
“The local farmers picked up on the idea of hanging foxes in this particular gum tree, so during the 1950’s and 60s there were often up to 20-30 foxes hanging there,” explains Michael.
“The first vineyard that we planted 20 years ago is just down the road from that intersection,” Tony adds.
“So when it came time to name our vineyard, we didn’t really want to call it Mike and Tony’ s or Lee brothers so we called it Foxyes Hangout, after the local landmark, where our first vineyard was planted.”
A Family Business Gains Recognition
The extended Lee family all work together at Foxeys Hangout. Source: Supplied
Their 2017 Shiraz was awarded gold in its first show outing at the 2018 International Cool Climate Wine Show, held at the Mornington Racing Club.
“It’s great to have wine industry professionals look at your wines in a line-up, and choose yours as the nicest drinking wine regardless of how much it's selling for,” says Tony with obvious pride.
“Foxeys crushes 250 tons per year, and that equates to around 18 thousand cases of wine,” adds Michael.
“For a winery on a worldwide scale, we are a very tiny winery.
"However, given the size of our business, we are one of the medium size businesses on Mornington Peninsula.”
Their three estate vineyards include four acres under cultivation at Red Hill where their cellar door opens Friday to Monday, offering visitors a range of gourmet dishes to accompany wine tasting.
As Tony blow-torches the sliced salmon he was pin-boning earlier, he explains they each have two children and all four now work in the business.
“We work together and we eat together, and in that sense, it’s a family business not just because we’re a family but also because we have that sense of community,” says Tony laying plates of salad Caprese and marinated quail on the communal lunch table.
“It’s one thing to say I’ve got your back, it’s another when you actually do go out and finish the dishes together.”
“There is a history of wine families that pass on the business from one generation to next, and if that happened it would be wonderful,” Michael adds with a smile.
