How We Began

In 1979, Ed and Elenore Green bought an 11.4 hectare property in Forest Grove, south of Margaret River as a getaway from life in the city. Ed was the Regional Aviation and defence Manager for the Bureau of Meteorology in Perth and Elenore was a children's dentist.
This beautiful property was originally once part of the then Premier of WA, Jimmy Mitchell's soldier settlement plans and was established at the end of the First World War as a "Gelignite Block". Here explosives were to be stored for use by the pioneer soldier settlers to clear the massive Karri and Jarrah stumps.
The area is ideal for growing wine grapes - protection from strong winds by the surrounding forest, a climate relatively cooler than vineyards north of Witchcliffe and terrain which steers autumn storms away from the vineyard. North/south slopes, gravelly Karri loam soil and a good water supply from a creek which runs about nine months of the year, combine to ensure gentle, even ripening of the fruit.
The first vines, comprising two hectares, were planted in 1980. Vines were planted every two or three years with the final two hectares being planted in 1995. There are now nine hectares of bearing grapevines. We are therefore one of the oldest vineyards in the Margaret River appellation.
In the early years avaricious birds were a serious problem, but after much experimentation and frustration it was realised that bird netting was the only viable solution. In 1999 there was an explosion in the kangaroo population. After a very dry spring, summer and autumn, the kangaroos were unable to find sufficient food in the bush and found Green Valley Shiraz just to their taste. An additional fence was erected on top of the existing rabbit proof fencing. Now the birds seek their food from surrounding bush and the kangaroos patrol the fence line looking in longingly.
At the end of 2006 Ed and El agreed to ‘sell-up' and have settled in Margaret River, continuing their long association with the community and remain in touch with the goings on at Green Valley. After 28 years under the Greens, new owners Graeme Seed and Helen Thomas, with the help of their daughters have taken on the responsibility, with the help of Ian Bell as consultant and wine maker,  producing quality boutique wines at affordable prices.

2007 and 2008 have seen careful consideration and planning. Plans to renovate the house and accommodation block as well as building new storage and cellar door facilities have been put on hold whilst we focus most importantly on the vines.

Our mission is to continue with the production of very high quality fruit, which has always been in demand from high profile wineries, whilst leaving the wine making to contracted professionals. Further,  from 2007 and beyond we will be looking to become more responsible global citizens, thereby integrating sustainable features into our buildings, with a solar power generating capability, rammed earth features and improved natural temperature control methods.
We are not only ‘Green' by name, but also very much Green by ‘nature.  Realising as we do the temporary nature of our custodianship of the land we are hoping to make as little impact on the environment as possible, whilst running a thriving vineyard that offers great wine and great service to all our friends and customers.
As they have always done, our dedicated staff work cheerfully and tirelessly to continuously improve the quality of our fruit, using the best of technology, dedication, skill and hard work.
We are committed to ensuring that visitors to our beautiful vineyard have an enjoyable and memorable time. We hope that you can visit us at Green Valley when you are next in the South-West.

The Vineyard

Green Valley Vineyard produces Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Riesling grapes. The first commercial wines - Riesling and Muller Thurgau were produced in 1986. The first Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon were produced in 1990 and have been Green Valley's flagship wines ever since. The Cabernet Sauvignon has won medals every year, including the Sheraton Silver Trophy for the 1995 vintage, and the QANTAS trophy and the Stuart van Raalte trophy for the 1996 vintage.The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon was runner up in the Cabernet class of the Wine Wise Small Vigneron Awards in 2002. The Riesling 2003 was awarded the Gold Medal at the Sheraton Awards in Perth in August 2003.

The plantings of Chenin Blanc, Muller Thurgau and Columbard were grafted over to the new Burgundian clones of Chardonnay in November 2002. Four clones - 76, 96, 97 and 277 were used. Since then the chardonnay has flourished and impressed all. To further lift the quality of our fruit we have embarked on a program to re-trellis the house block and completed the Chardonnay work in late 2008.

Our wines were first made at Vasse Felix from 1985 - 1999 and are then made under contract at Moss Wood by the highly acclaimed and regarded winemaker, Keith Mugford and his team, including Ian Bell. The first Mugford made wines, the 2000 Riesling and the 2000 Premium Dry White, were released in December 2000.

We have been fortunate to continue our association with Ian Bell and now our wines are made by Ian and he continues to provide oversight of the daily running of the vineyard.