For years the shiraz fruit from the Westgate Vineyard has been used in many local award winning wines, and our intention has always been to produce a premium shiraz wine from our vineyard, under the Westgate label when the time was right.

Tending the vines to produce premium fruit and overseeing the winemaking of this wine was one thing, finding a name for this product, was another.

The Endurance Label was inspired by two significant events and a 30 year history "enduring the challenges of viticulture in a constantly changing environment".

In September 2004, we entered our "unnamed" first premium Westgate 100% Shiraz in the Ballarat Wine show. To our delight, it scoped the pool and not only won a gold medal, but won three of the major trophies, including the Wine of the Show.

This renewed our confidence and enthusiasm, as for the previous few years we had been disillusioned by difficult climatic conditions and the trials and tribulations of a troubled industry.

Several days after the Ballarat Wine Show our eldest daughter, Emma, conquered the challenge of swimming the English Channel, a triumph of amazing endurance not only the swim it self but enduring the preparations and planning of this challenge.

At 10.01pm on September 27th 2004, when Emma reached the rocky beach at Cape Gris-Nez near Calais in France after a 12 hour 35 minute sola swim across the English Channel, the Endurance name was born.

As the name suggests, good wines just don't happen.

Enjoy the fruits of our Endurance.