By Callum Ludwig
The Upper Yarra Secondary College’s viticultural escapades have continued to expand as students chipped in for the annual harvest on Wednesday 21 February.
Hats, sunscreen and plenty of water were the order of the day as staff and students ventured to the vineyard to pick the bountiful bunches of grapes.
Innovation Specialist and VET teacher Marcus Cook said the school’s continued partnership with Oakridge Wines and their Vineyard Manager Steve Faulkner has been fantastic.
“It’s a hot day for picking, but we’ve had over 200 staff and students out helping and we are hopeful of picking up to three tonnes of Pinot Noir grapes today,” he said.
“We had just been feeling our way initially, so to have an expert on-site or easily contactable to guide us on how to make the best possible Pinot has been good for the learning of myself and the students,”
“We’re going to have a quality product, something to be proud of.”
Established in 2021, grapes from the school’s vineyard were first sent to Yarrawood Estate before partnering up with Oakridge Wines in 2023. Throughout the year, the vineyard is tended to by students completing a Certificate II in Wine Industry Operations.
Mr Cook said it’s not just the class that benefits from it now, it’s the whole school.
“It helps with creating a big community spirit because everyone’s getting involved, it’s become a calendar event for the school.”
Bottles of the school’s wine from 2023 and eventually 2024 will become available in Dan Murphy’s stores under the label ‘YarraJunction Vineyard and Co’.
Year 12 student Tom said the course appealed to him because he loves working outdoors.
“Our involvement is about keeping everything nice and tidied up, making sure that the ripe grapes are getting the right flavour, and it’s also just good learning about how vineyards work and the skills we might use later on in life,” he said.
Year 11 student Alex said she might explore working in the field in the future.
“It’s definitely something I would be interested in when I leave school, it’s just really fun and I also like working outdoors, so it’s quite possible.”
