Sour grapes: Why your favourite ‘estate’ might not have a single vine

April 24, 2026 — 6:00pm

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The rail trail runs from Tallarook to Yea, or further if you’re game. But a 40 kilometre pedal was plenty for us. We even paused halfway, a caffeine stop at Trawool Estate. Maybe the names ring a bell: Yea, Trawool. Back in January, both towns edged Victoria’s fires, prompting me to ask the barista, “Did the smoke affect your grapes the other month?”

“What grapes?” came her answer. I glanced around and couldn’t spot a vine. Call me prejudicial, but when I see “estate” in a rural setting, I think barrels and cellar doors. In short, grapes. Surely wine is integral to estate’s definition.

Dictionaries, however,........

© Brisbane Times