At Helen & Joey Estate, winemaking begins long before harvest.
It begins with a respect for the land. Growing up in Yiwu, China, Helen Xu spent much of her childhood alongside her father in the fields. There, she developed an appreciation for nature, the changing seasons and the patience needed to grow something meaningful. Those early experiences continue to guide the philosophy of Helen & Joey Estate today.
When Helen and Joey discovered an abandoned vineyard in the Yarra Valley, they saw an opportunity to create wines that reflected both place and purpose. What started as a single vineyard has grown into a 200-acre estate. However, the guiding principle remains unchanged. Exceptional wine comes from careful farming, thoughtful decisions and a willingness to let time do its work.
Our winery supports that philosophy. We selected every tank, barrel and piece of equipment to preserve the character of the fruit we grow. As a result, each vineyard block and vintage can speak for itself.
These photos capture the beginnings of the Helen & Joey Estate story: the original gate at Spring Lane, Helen’s family home in Yiwu, China, and the misty vineyard mornings that shaped the estate’s early years. →
Helen & Joey Estate produced its first estate-grown vintage in 2014. In 2015, a converted farm machinery shed behind the original cellar door became the estate’s first winery, allowing a portion of the fruit to be made on-site.
The completion of our purpose-built winery ahead of the 2022 vintage marked the beginning of a new chapter. Today, every grape grown on the estate can be processed, fermented and matured on-site, giving our winemaking team complete control from vineyard to bottle.
As a true wine-first business, the winery was the first stage of the broader Helen & Joey Estate vision.
Every part of the facility was designed to handle fruit as gently as possible. From cooling grapes before processing to temperature-controlled fermentation and maturation, each decision is made with quality in mind.
Our underground barrel cellar provides ideal conditions for maturation, maintaining naturally stable temperatures and humidity throughout the year.
This is where wines from our Wayward Child, Re’em and Alicorn ranges quietly develop complexity, texture and balance before release.
Sustainability is an important part of our winemaking approach.
Through an Australian Government-supported energy efficiency project, we have reduced our reliance on mechanical refrigeration by using the passive thermal properties of the winery. The result is lower energy consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the high standards required for premium wine production.
Hours
Cellar Door
7 days a week
10am – 5pm
Restaurant
Open Friday – Monday
Open for Lunch
12pm – 5pm (last booking at 3pm)
Open for Dinner
Friday and Saturday nights
5.30pm – 9.30pm (last booking 7.30pm)
More Information
Location
12-14 Spring Lane, Gruyere, Vic, 3770
03 9003 3939
enquiries@hjestate.com.au
The liquor Licence No. 32807369. Victoria | Liquor Control Reform Act 1998:
WARNING – Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is an offence to supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years (penalty exceeds $19,000); For a person under the age of 18 years to purchase or receive liquor (Penalty exceeds $800).
Never ceded, the land we farm is Wurundjeri land. Always was, always will be.
Located on the grounds of Helen and Joey Estate
12-14 Spring Lane, Gruyere, Vic, 3770
1800 989 463
re_emreception@hjestate.com.au
