Two scientists walk into a vineyard. Sounds like the start of a joke — but for Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis, it was the beginning of one of Victoria’s most compelling wine stories.
After years balancing careers in science with weekends digging holes and planting vines, the two made Lethbridge Wines their full-time obsession in 2003. Both hold PhDs — chemistry and medicine respectively — and approached the search for their ideal site the same way they’d approach a research problem: methodically, rigorously, and with zero shortcuts. The result is a winery that feels entirely its own thing.
The Flagship Vineyard sits 30km northwest of Geelong on land originally planted by Swiss immigrants in 1874, and the biodynamic, low-intervention philosophy that runs through everything here isn’t a marketing line — it’s baked into how Ray and Maree think. Indigenous yeast fermentations, foot-stomping, small open fermenters, minimal handling — every decision in the winery is about getting out of the way and letting the site speak.
The masterclass will be led by Ray Nadeson himself — co-founder, scientist-turned-winemaker, and one of the driving forces behind 30 years of Lethbridge.
Over the years, Lethbridge has become one of the most distinctive voices in Victorian wine, producing bottles that balance precision, character and a real sense of place. The wines move comfortably between classic and experimental — from age-worthy Chardonnay and finely detailed Pinot Noir to savoury, structured Shiraz and the wonderfully left-field Vin Jaune Yellow.
On tasting:
Bracket 1
Lethbridge Methode Ancestrale 2023
Nadeson Collis Inception NV
Bracket 2
Lethbridge Chardonnay 2024
Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay 2019
Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay 2013
Bracket 3
Lethbridge Pinot Noir 2024
Lethbridge Block 4 Pinot Noir 2023
Lethbridge Mietta Pinot Noir 2020
Bracket 4
Lethbridge Que Syrah Syrah 2023
Lethbridge Shiraz 2022
Lethbridge Indra Shiraz 2018
Bracket 5
Lethbridge Vin Jaune Yellow NV
