The Hanging Rock Winery Pty Ltd.

Established in 1983 by John and Ann Ellis, their flagship range is headed by 'Macedon', a rich, complex, dry-finishing, non-vintage Champagne-style sparkling, unashamedly modelled on the non-vintage wines of Krug and Bollinger.

All that time spent working as a drink waiter and cellar manager while he was failing Veterinary Science, must have made an impression on John. He graduated as Dux of his winemaking course from Roseworthy College in 1971 and then began his illustrious winemaking career at Krondorf and Yalumba wineries.

In 1974 John went to the Hunter Valley to become the foundation winemaker at the newly established Rosemount Estate. Within two years John had put Rosemount Estate on the map internationally and made a name for himself as one of the ‘young Turks’ of the industry. In 1975 Rosemount won 2 Trophies and 17 Gold Medals with John’s wines.

The next move came in 1978 when John, with his wife Ann Tyrrell, went to Echuca on the Murray River in Victoria, to help establish the Tisdall Winery. Tisdall quickly became a high profile and successful brand in the seventies and early eighties, enjoying something of a cult following.

To do this John and Ann chose, in 1982, to establish their own winery at Hanging Rock in the very cool (ideal for sparkling wine grapes) Macedon Ranges Wine Region of Victoria.

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