In 1994, restaurateur Rinaldo Di Stasio decided against opening another dining establishment and instead went back to the beginning and nature.
He bought virgin bushland — a 32-hectare hillside block in the Yarra Valley — and proceeded to transform it. Adjacent to the expansive Warramate flora and fauna reserve it now boasts roads, dams and a house designed by Allen Powell. Sitting church-like on top of the hill, the monastery-like structure, complete with a Bill Henson-filled gallery and a tree-filled courtyard overlooks 2.8 hectares of vineyards, equally split between chardonnay and pinot noir.