It was a dark and stormy Friday night, and four good friends (John, Jack, Steve and Rowland) sat in the bar of the Blue Beat Cafe in Kingston, enjoying a beer after a tough week at their respective offices, solving the problems of the world.

One of the party (Rowland), always full of good ideas - well, always full of ideas, at least - suggested setting up a vineyard on his land at Bungendore. All four thought it was a fine idea (particularly for Rowland) then ordered another beer and returned to solving the problems of the world. But the seed had been planted.

In 1996 the business partnership was formed and the first vines were planted in 1997. They were planted on Steve's block of land at Murrumbateman. Only two acres were planted (an acre of Chardonnay and one of Cabernet Sauvignon) more as an experimental planting (or a "tease" as Steve called it) to see if the partnership had the skills, time, resources and dedication to achieve the aims. It was a lot of hard work, sometimes in appalling conditions, and many mistakes were made, but we succeeded. The vines grew to produce excellent fruit and premium quality wine was made from it. (The 2001 Little Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2002 and 2003 Little Bridge Chardonnays.)

To get to Steve's block in Dick's Creek Road it was necessary to cross a little bridge just outside his property. Thus the name "Little Bridge Vineyard" was born. (Another suggestion was "Four Dogs Wines" but we thought it might be confused with an alcoholic lemon drink popular at the time. There were other suggestions, but probably best not listed here.)

Unfortunately the demands of a young and growing family required Steve to make an urban relocation, and the block was sold in 2001. An even greater tragedy occurred in 2003 when the new owners pulled out the vines. Sentimental reasons aside, the tragedy is that we no longer have access to that high quality fruit.

In 1998 we planted 2 Ha (5 acres) of vines on Rowland's property at Butmaroo (just out of Bungendore). The height of this block is 860 metres above sea level, and at this latitude that means COOL climate. We were restricted in the grape varieties we could plant there and reasonably expect to ripen. We chose Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Merlot (mostly early to mid-season maturing varieties). In 2002 and 2003 we have harvested each variety and made wine from the fruit. The fruit has proven to be of very high quality, and we have made premium wine from it.

The next stage of the project is to grow the classic red varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. For this we needed land at a lower altitude. One of us (Jack) was keen to adopt the country lifestyle. Jack and Rowland searched the Canberra District for a suitable block. Eventually Jack bought 40 acres of the legendary Yass plains. The block is on Dog Trap Road just south of Yass, at an altitude of 560 metres. In 2004 planted approximately 6 acres of vines. (2 x Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 x Shiraz, 1 x Sangiovese and 1 x Malbec. These have now produced fruit for the 2008 and 2009 vintages. As expected, given the ideal aspect and deep well drained granite based soils the fruit produced was both plentiful but also of the highest quality.  Arguably the best location of any vines in the Canberra district.  

Even by 'Boutique' standards we are a very small operation. Our vines are hand pruned and maintained, and the fruit is hand picked.

Our white wines are made for us by 'Canberra Winemakers' under the direction of Greg Gallagher, at Jeir Creek Winery. Our Pinot Noir is being made by Sue and David Carpenter at Lark Hill Winery .

The other red varieties we make ourselves using traditional methods. Fermentation is carried out in small open fermenters and the must is pressed in a hand operated basket press. Maturation occurs in French and American oak hogsheads. No fining or filtration occurs at any stage of the process. This retains maximum colour and flavour in the finished wine.  

Our wine making style ensures that the flavours are brought to the fore. Our whites are fined after crushing and undergo a long, slow fermentation at relatively low temperatures. This retains maximum flavour and avoids harsh, bitter or oxidised compounds developing.

Our reds are fermented at higher temperatures and plunged at least three times a day to extract maximum flavour and fruit tannins from the grape skins. The primary fermentation is completed on the skins.

The reds, particularly the Cabernet Sauvignon, require some years in the bottle before they reach their best for drinking. Cellaring them requires a good deal of self-control, but can be very rewarding.

All our wines are sealed using stelvin caps. This helps the Rieslings retain their youthfulness and freshness for as long as possible and provides more certainty around the cellaring of our reds.

The Riesling is best drunk within two years of bottling. However, should you enjoy aged Rieslings (the author does not!) the Little Bridge Rieslings do age gracefully.

Having said all of that, most of our customers ignore all our advice, drink the wines straight away, and come back for more!