The moon was key to the creation of Still Moon Wines. Started as a lockdown experiment by Charmaine and Tom Handyside, Still Moon has morphed into a fascinating biodynamic-focussed, multi-regional wine label, one that’s providing further evidence that the Macedon Ranges is one of Australia’s most interesting and diverse wine regions. But it wouldn’t be what or where it is without the moon.

Still Moon’s origin story reads like a rom-com. Young woman from Perth moves to Melbourne to further her career but one night, while drinking a post-work glass of wine, realises the city’s light pollution means neither the stars nor the moon are visible. Feeling like she’s missing out, she tree-changes to Kyneton and opens a wine bar called The Tipsy Rabbit. A local viticulturalist visits the bar, ostensibly to sell some wine. The pair realise pretty quickly that their mutual appreciation for wines that emphatically express terroir is not the only thing they like about each other. They marry and their wine journey begins.

The idea of making their own wine came during the pandemic, which saw the closure of The Tipsy Rabbit and their love of wine gaining a sharper focus.

“We sat back one night and said, 'we both really love it, let’s take the leap and make some wine,'” says Charmaine. “So we bought a couple of tons of fruit and processed it at home – stomping on it in barrels and fermenting it in a giant esky, real home-job crazy kind of stuff. We filtered it and put it into bottles and it was actually pretty good for a while but then it was terrible. But we were hooked and realised we wanted to learn how to do it properly so we could make the kind of wines we really like to drink.”

Tom’s excellent reputation as a viticulturist in the region – he’s been at tending vineyards for 30 years and “lives and breathes it” – meant they were able to access excellent fruit from around the region. But they were also becoming interested in bio-dynamic practice that would produce grapes that clearly expressed of the soil in which they grew. And the main guide for this approach? The moon.

“With our own vineyard and the vineyards we purchase fruit from, our approach to planning and pruning is very much guided by moon cycles,” says Charmaine. “A lot of people think it’s a bit wackadoo but it makes sense because the water in the plant is affected by the moon the same way as

tides are. So we only prune at times when the water is lower in the vine, which makes it stronger and means deeper roots, less spraying and the wine more fully expressing the flavours and characteristics of the terroir.”

Most of Still Moon’s range is made from fruit from the Macedon Ranges (where their vineyard is situated) but they’ve recently sourced chardonnay grapes from the Adelaide Hills alongside the pinot noir, shiraz, barbera, grenache and chardonnay sourced closer to home. After initially getting other winemakers to make their first vintages, they’re becoming increasingly hands-on with the winemaking too.

“Our main driver is to make wines that we like to drink,” says Charmaine. “When that happens, we know we are on the right path. Tom’s always believed that the biggest part of winemaking happens in the vineyard and with us following the phases of the moon, I think that’s what we’re really starting to show at Still Moon.”

STORY BY MICHAEL HARDEN
PHOTOS BY CHRI S TURNER

Still Moon Wines
@stillmoonwines
stillmoon.com.au