“Moppity has been awarded Most Successful Exhibitor at the Canberra Region Wine Show for a record eight years and won the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge twice,” writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.

Some time ago I bought a bottle of Moppity Vineyards 2018 Hilltops Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and wished I’d bought more. 

I paid $25 for this excellent cedary oaky, cassis-laden cabernet and it was an excellent value-for-money wine. 

I haven’t tried any of their other wines, but know that in 2019 the company acquired and expanded the Kerralee vineyard in Murrumbateman, so they are a local winery in a true sense. 

Moppity has been awarded Most Successful Exhibitor at the Canberra Region Wine Show for a record eight years and won the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge twice.

I decided to call Jason Brown, owner of and winemaker at Moppity, to get an update on progress with the Canberra expansion. Jason told me that the family had moved to Murrumbateman and renovated and extended the house at Kerralee while keeping the vineyards in Young and Tumbarumba.

Jason said that when he acquired the local property, he immediately grafted cuttings from the best Hilltops shiraz blocks to replace the old pinot and merlot vines.

Showing that good grape growing is essentially good farming, he said he had achieved a 95 per cent strike rate with the grafted shiraz.

“We’re always looking to improve and have done around 170 acres of grafting in the last 10 years, across our four vineyards in Canberra, Hilltops and Tumbarumba,” he said.

“Grafting yields better results than ripping out the old vines and planting new ones because, in many ways, it’s the old trunk and root system that drives wine quality. With grafting we lose one year of production but we retain the developed root and trunk systems, and it works. 

“We’ve also planted an additional 20 acres at Kerralee. The Canberra District has been wonderfully capable of producing wines similar to those from Northern Rhone, just look at the amazing history of Clonakilla.

“On the northern side of the property, we’ve got some old vine shiraz and viognier, representing Cote Rotie, then south of Jeir Creek side we’ve got more shiraz, grenache and mourvedre mirroring the southern Rhone’s engine room of Cotes du Rhone. “It’s a mini-reflection of the Rhone Valley, with some riesling thrown in. Unfortunately, we were wiped out by frost in 2024 and didn’t get a crop, but the 2025 vintage has produced some good yields, with some outstanding shiraz, riesling and a southern Rhone style of grenache, shiraz, mourvedre.

“Alecia and I lived in Canberra until 2004, when we bought our Hilltops vineyard and have noticed a real shift in Canberrans’ appreciation for local wine. 

“Back then there was an almost inverse snobbery: it was only tourists that bought Canberra regional wine. Now there’s a recognition and pride in the incredible wines that are made in southern NSW including Hilltops and Tumbarumba, but with Canberra at the centre.

“You are seeing most of the local winemakers making wine from Tumbarumba and Hilltops, as well as from Canberra fruit. I’d always seen these regions as the ‘holy trinity’ of NSW winemaking.

“We have a deep commitment to showcasing these areas – they’re capable of making some of the best wines in the world. 

“Our flagship wine, the Escalier shiraz is only made in exceptional vintages and has always been from Hilltops. However, the 2022, to be released next year, has come from our Murrumbateman vineyard – a testament to the quality of this site – so it’s one to look out for.”

I certainly will; Moppity has cemented its Canberra connection.

“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.” –Wayne Dyer