The LS Merchants School of Winemaking

Next classes will be held in 2025.

What is it?

Over the course of 3 separate days, you’ll learn the basics of winemaking and viticulture while working with our team doing hands on classes and walk away at the end with a wine you made as a class, from the picking, pruning of the vines, to the final blend and bottling.

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Example schedule

Day 1: A Saturday in March: harvesting and processing

Picking, processing the grapes and participating in winery operations that are happening at the time during vintage.

Day 2: A Saturday in June or July: pruning and viticulture 101

Learning why pruning is so important and how different pruning techniques will effect the growth the following season. Then getting out in the vineyard and doing some pruning and looking at the soils. (It’s super interesting, we promise!) We’ll also taste the wine we picked in March, which will make up the majority blend for the Class wine, as well as some other LSM wines.

Day 3: A Saturday in November: blending + bottling of the class wine.

Working in groups, you’ll be given samples of LSM red wines and do some blending trials, it will be the class shiraz dominant but you’ll get to see how adding small amounts of other varieties can impact the wine and change the flavour. You’ll choose your favourite blend as a team and then Dylan and crew will judge the best wine which will then be blended in a larger quantity for you to bottle. The class will bottle, cap, label and box their wine to take home.

What’s included?

3 days in our vineyard and winery over the course of a year, covering all aspects from picking, production, pruning, blending and bottling, plus:

• A case of wine (12 bottles) per person OR per couple to take away with a custom School of Winemaking label with the option to order more if you wish. It will be shiraz based.

• A personalised name tag on one of the vines used for the wine we make.

• Coffee/ morning tea and lunch on each of the days.

• ‘School of Winemaking’ commemorative t’shirt. 

• Workbook to look back on and take notes

Price: $1000 pp or $1750 per couple.

Places are limited and filling fast.