Homeless Grapes Project Chardonnay 2018

The first Homeless Grapes Project started in 2015 with one little Facebook post. Jock Harvey, from Chalk Hill Wines, posted that he had a surplus block of grapes and anyone was welcome to them if they made a donation to charity. We saw an opportunity: why not make a cheeky little shiraz instead and send 100% of the profits to charity? We contacted Jock, and the rest - as they say in the biz - took loads of hard work but was totally worth it. 

Three hours later, we had pickers, tractors, a winemaker, barrels, bottles and labels all lined up. The whole community came together to make the wine a reality, and the Homeless Grapes Project was born.

The Homeless Grapes - Victoria 2018

The Homeless Grapes Project is defined by generosity; from the growers, winemakers, volunteers, bottlers, printers and supporters, this project would not be possible without the support of our beautiful community who have donated their talent, goods and services to help raise money for those who need it most. 

In 2018 we picked grapes in the Yarra Valley, Coonawarra and McLaren Vale - the idea being that each pick supports a local homelessness issue. 

Every cent from this Yarra Valley Chardonnay goes to St Mary’s House of Welcome, an amazing frontline charity who provide hot food, accomodation, support and essential services to those experiencing homelessness in Melbourne.

The Partners

Though we have the absolute honour of selling the finished product, we can’t take responsibility for this vino. This is a community effort for community gain, from the winemakers doing the hard yards to our designer working on the label, to the volunteer mofos out picking grapes. Everyone played or will play a part in this and we give thanks to you all.

But extra special thanks go to all the makers and growers of the Yarra Valley, including: Steve Webber and Leanne De Bortoli of De Bortoli Wines, who helped pick and shape these grapes into wine from start to finish; Clare Halloran (TarraWarra Estate) and Helmut Konecsny (Rochford Wines), who generously donated some of their precious chardonnay grapes for the cause. Not to mention our brilliant packaging, printing and logistics partners in Portavin, CCL Label, Visy and Bambra. Also...

You

Yeah, you. You who jumped out of bed without much notice (hello fickle nature, we’re looking at you) and headed to a vineyard to spend some time with these homeless grapes. You who bought a case of a previous vintage and helped us do some good. You who shared that wine with friends and spread the message of Homeless Grapes. You, who upon reading this, will buy a case of this vintage and help make a difference. You, beautiful mofo, who is out there contributing to a better world.

The Wine

The wine in the glass speaks volumes, even if you didn’t know the backstory. The coming together of grapes from Tarrawarra, De Bortoli and Rochford creates a harmonious whole that seems to have amplified the best parts of each. It’s fine, fleshy and minerally all at once. Its steely backbone is wrapped up in honeydew melon, grapefruit pith and almond croissant flavours. It weaves a long, captivating story on your palate, with effortless generosity that echoes the intent of the Homeless Grapes project. As if you already didn’t feel good about buying this wine.