The Brothers

The Brothers

Although Metala was settled in the mid 1850’s on the banks of the river Bremer and is a 5th generation vineyard with a long and proud family history, it has been the brothers of the current generation, Guy and Tom who have worked hard to grow the property to what it is today-750 acres of vines composed predominantly of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon with a small area of Chardonnay with additional broad acre farming and merino sheep breeding for wool and meat production.

Guy manages both the vineyard and winery. The company supplies various wine companies with high quality fruit, particularly Fosters who produce the estate label ‘Metala’ which has been made for over 40 years, Orlando Wyndham and Tatachilla. Wine was originally made in the stone cellars at Metala from the late1890’s until 1910 when, through family connections, Stonyfell took over, still using the original open fermenters and cellars.

In 1952 production of the wine was moved to Stonyfell.  Bryan Dolan, winemaker at the time, conceived the idea of Metala becoming an estate wine and in 1959 sketched out the Metala label.  Bryan won the inaugural Jimmy Watson Trophy in 1962 with the 1961 Metala Shiraz Cabernet.  Bryan ’s son Nigel Dolan is now the Head Red Winemaker for Fosters and continues the tradition of producing this iconic label.  Aside from the big companies, Metala also provides fruit for a number if smaller boutique labels other than Brothers in Arms, such as Oddfellows and Killibinbin.

The success of the vineyard is attributed to the determination of Guy who has been at the leading edge of viticultural practice over the past 25 years.   

When they built the winery in 2001, Tom initially took on the role of growing a wine brand in a market that was already over run with brands. Early success in the market encouraged an increase in production and new markets have since been developed in , Europe, Asia and the .