"It's a collaboration where we have looked to capture the spirit of Mornington Peninsula. For us Mornington is the home and the heart of Handpicked's winemaking team so it's pretty special to what we do. Both wines express the purity of the region that we love so much."

I know of many women in Melbourne (my wife included) who are loyal fans of Gorman. When I was thinking what sort of wine we should make, I decided it definitely needed to be local. Gorman to me is proudly Victorian. Mornington made sense, because this is where my family and Jonathon Mattick live, and where the Handpicked flagship winery 'Capella' is based.

Mornington is one of Australia's most exciting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay regions, and one of the world's best kept secrets. The region is small so volumes of wine are scarce, but often of very high quality. The vines at our Mornington property are hand pruned and hand harvested and we place an increasing emphasis on sustainable practices such as the use of compost mulch to increase soil health and biodiversity and reduce water usage. Soils are grey clay loam and there is a strong maritime influence, with moderating winds year-round. Planted in 2009, the vines have already produced several exceptional vintages.

I selected some fruit from Capella as well as parcels from some neighbouring properties, to create a new and unique blend, outside our regular range. We think these wines are the perfect accompaniment for anyone who enjoys Gorman - and we hope you'll like them too.

Peter Dillon

Director of Winemaking, Handpicked Wines

Gorman is an iconic Melbourne fashion label loved by women across the globe. It is recognised for its unique style and its bold, colourful prints.

Gorman's seasonal releases thrive on collaboration. Lisa Gorman, founder, is closely connected with Melbourne's Heide Museum of Modern Art, which was the venue for Gorman's runway at the 2019 Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival. The opening runway of VAMFF, it launched new capsule collections and an exhibition celebrating Gorman's 10 years collaborating with some of Australia's most interesting visual artists. Handpicked Wines presented the first HP x Gorman wines at the runway.

Handpicked Wines and Gorman have collaborated for several years and since 2018 Handpicked has been the official wine partner of Heide Museum. It's part of our plan to build relationships with like-minded creative businesses and explore the connections between wine and the creative process. When Lisa Gorman expressed interest in collaborating on a unique wine project we asked our winemaker Pete Dillon, who is based on the Mornington Peninsula, to choose two special parcels of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit for the project.

The fashion and wine worlds can seem very different. In the vineyards and wineries March is vintage - a time of intense manual labour and long, dirty days and nights; in the Melbourne fashion scene it is a whirlwind of catwalks and late night end-of-summer parties.

But there are similarities too. Wine and fashion, let's face it, can both be hijacked by superficial swagger. The constant challenge is to reject shallow trends and hold to an authentic and sustainable vision to create a genuine product that is a unique expression of a person, a place, a time.

Gorman and Handpicked also share a mutual interest in collaboration and exploration. As Gorman celebrates 10 years of collaborations with artists, Handpicked continues to expand its alliances with artists, fashion labels, theatre companies and other fellow creatives.

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