Wayward. (Definition)

Adjective:

“Turned or turning away from what is proper; willful; disobedient:”

Every child, at some stage in its life, has a certain “wayward” spirit that needs to be released, it’s a part of growing up. Helen & Joey Estate, being a young wine business, is no different.

Helen & Joey Estate began back in 2010 when Helen and Joey decided to purchase what was the old Fernando vineyard located on Spring Lane in the beautiful Yarra Valley. This is a magical place and one we all look forward to turning up to every day for work.

2012 was the first vintage for Helen & Joey Estate, and by the time the 2016 vintage came around, our wayward spirit was bursting to be released!

To learn, you must experiment and make mistakes, and so we did. In 2016, the winemaking team at Helen & Joey Estate was given free license to experiment (and maybe even “stuff it up”) with different parcels of fruit sourced from our single vineyard estate in the Yarra Valley.

Their task? To see what we could do, and how far we could push the boundaries. Now, we knew not all of these experiments would work, and to be honest, 4 out of the 6 didn’t and ended up – shall we say – as nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Although our first vintage (2016) wines have been sourced entirely from our own (Helen & Joey Estate) vineyard, Wayward Child wines are not confined by fences, regions, varieties, styles or critics expectations. If our experiments result in what we think is an outstanding wine; we will bottle it under the Wayward Child label. The same wines may not be made every year, as vintage conditions will dictate to a certain degree what we can or can’t do.

All Wayward Child wines are handmade, at our winery in tiny quantities. You will not find these wines in mainstream bottle shops or discount websites. If you’re lucky, one of your favourite restaurants may have some on their wine list for a short period of time. If you want some, I would suggest contacting us quickly to avoid possible disappointment.