On the steep slopes of Mount Toolebewong, eight kilometres south of Healesville, Timo Mayer and Rhonda Ferguson established Mayer Wines and planted what would become known, aptly, as Bloody Hill. It is a demanding site, worked by hand, high-density and low-yielding, devoted primarily to Pinot Noir with smaller plantings of Chardonnay and Shiraz, alongside a growing cast of Mediterranean and European varieties. The vineyard sits firmly in the cool heart of the Yarra Valley, and the wines speak clearly of that setting: bright, structured and alive with energy.

Timo grew up in Württemberg, Germany, where his family have farmed vines for more than four centuries. Rather than inherit tradition, he left it, travelling widely before settling in Australia. After studying oenology at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, he found his footing in the Yarra Valley during the 1990s, a period when many local wines leaned toward power and polish. Working under Steve Webber at De Bortoli and later at Gembrook Hill, Mayer gravitated instead toward detail, savouriness and a more transparent articulation of site.

He launched his own label in 2000. The turning point came in 2004, when he committed to 100 percent whole-bunch fermentation for Pinot Noir, at the time a rarity in Australia. It was not a tentative experiment but a complete embrace of stems, seeking perfume, tension and a particular tannin profile. The decision proved influential. What was once considered eccentric has since become part of the broader Australian conversation around Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Mayer’s approach remains consistent: wild ferments, whole bunches, often entirely so, no fining, no filtration, minimal handling. The aim is not artifice but vitality, wines that retain texture, spice and structural clarity. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay form the core of the range, but Gamay, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Cabernet and others have followed, each shaped with the same uncompromising methodology.

Mayer Wines is resolutely family-run. Timo and Rhonda raised their three children, Rivar, Ruby and Ivy, on the property above the vines. Today, Timo works closely with his son Rivar in both vineyard and cellar, maintaining the estate’s hands-on ethos while quietly passing the craft to the next generation.

There is an irreverence to Mayer’s personality, but the wines themselves are precise. They capture the Yarra Valley’s cool climate without weight or excess, favouring line over gloss, savouriness over sweetness. In pushing against convention, Mayer has helped redefine what Australian cool-climate wine can look like, less about scale, more about character.