Sophie and David Chapman are an inspirational couple of wine makers, who took the plunge in 2018 and bought 14 hectares of grazing land on the outskirts of Foster to establish a vineyard and make premium pinot noir.
David has extensive experience and a respected reputation producing wine on the Mornington Peninsula, but the pair say the Foster property was an opportunity to start from scratch and build all the quality control measures from the ground up, rather than inheriting other people’s vines and facilities.
The land at Foster also had all the attributes to produce a cool climate pinot. High regular rainfall, excellent soil, low incidence of frosts and a gentle slope. And a bonus, within a stone’s throw of a Ramsar wetland.
Appropriately, Sophie and David named the vineyard Corner Inlet and proudly and justifiably promote their environmental credentials, replanting and managing their Stockyard Creek frontage and rehabilitating a native grassland.
The vineyard is divided into three blocks, with varying aspects, each block planted with a different elite clone of the same early ripening variety of Pinot. As David said, “vines, especially a goldilocks variety like Pinot, don’t care about the view but they do care about the aspect.”
With the first vines planted in 2020, there are now three hectares planted. The 2023 vintage of 100 cases was the first and after an excellent harvest in 2025, production has increased to 500 cases, which will be available for sale in mid-2026. David said the maximum capacity of the winery is 1,000 cases and his aim is not to ever be a mass producer, but one who can supply world beating wine to the discerning drinker.
After resting in barrel for the winter and spring, the wines are bottled in the winery, and over the next 4-6 months gently develop, allowing gravity to do all the work. The wines are available for tasting and sale in the cellar door on the property which is open every public holiday and two weeks into the New Year. Kaye Rodden
