Rare cellar treasures to be uncorked

Do you love older wines, particularly those that have been cellared with care?

Passing Clouds is to open its doors for a rare cellar and museum wine release for one weekend only.

The family-owned Macedon Ranges producer - located at Musk, outside Daylesford - is planning a mini festival of decades of back vintages, cellar treasures and wines not offered to the public since their original release date, in some cases over 50 years ago.

From July 17–19, the Leith family will unlock its significant museum wine collections, offering visitors access to carefully cellared wines.

Some have never previously been available for sale.

And because many of the wines come from tiny remaining cellar parcels, once sold they will never be released again.

Owner Cameron Leith said the weekend is about sharing the winery's history.

“For decades we've carefully cellared wines because we believed they still had stories to tell," he says.

“Rather than keeping them hidden forever, we wanted people to experience them as they were intended - with family, friends and good conversation.”

Attendees will also be able to compare mature museum wines with younger vintages, demonstrating the ageing potential of Passing Clouds wines. 

There will be a $20 tasting fee, refundable on any wine purchase.

See www.passingclouds.com.au

Victorian wine pioneer dies at age 86

Victorian wine pioneer Graeme Leith, co-founder of Passing Clouds, died this week at the age of 86.

His death was anmounced on the winery Facebook page. 

Leith, co-founder and winemaker until 2007, will be celebrated at Passing Clouds Winery in Musk, outside Daylesford, on May 15 at 3pm.

Former electrician and polymath Leith and his partner Sue Mackinnon hand-planted Passing Clouds at Kingower, outside Bendigo, in the early 70s. 

It proved a problematic site, and he and his son Cameron later transferred the whole operation to cool-climate Musk, in the Macedon Ranges.

The Passing Clouds website says: "In the early sixties he worked his way around Europe, finally tasting some superb wine in Italy, and the dye was cast.

"In semi-retirement Graeme finally put pen to paper and began documenting all his stories. In 2015 “Passing Clouds A Winemaker’s Journey” was published.

Leith retired to the Musk vineyard. He was a nice man.  

Passing Clouds is now operated by Cameron Leith and his wife Marion and family and is currently up for sale.   

Image: Passing Clouds, Facebook

After 50+ years in the same family, Passing Clouds hits the market

Passing Clouds Vineyard, a family-owned wine producer with a 50+ year history, is up for sale by the Leith family.

The winery and cellar door, located at Musk, just outside Daylesford in Victoria, is being marketed by Nick Butler of LJ Hooker Specialty Projects.

Passing Clouds is described as "one of the jewels of the Macedon Ranges" .

The property has mature chardonnay and pinot noir vines with room for expansion, along with the cellar door with casual tasting and picnic areas, overlooking the winery.

Set away from the working business, the property also boasts an almost new architecturally designed five-bedroom home and a separate three-bedroom cottage.

Selling agent and vineyard specialist Butler has enjoyed a relationship with the Leith family for over 20 years.

“The demand for quality pinot noir and chardonnay vineyards remains strong with recent sales recognising that consumers are gravitating more and more to these varieties," Butler says.

"The Macedon Ranges is home to some of Australia’s finest wines and Passing Clouds Vineyard sits up at the upper echelon.

"Combining an established and well recognised vineyard and brand with the low hanging fruit of upside through a shortage of accommodation in the area and this represents an incredible opportunity to own something beautiful and highly profitable.”

Passing Clouds began in Bendigo before being established in the Macedon Ranges almost three decades ago.

Founder Graeme Leith handed over the reins to the next generation 15 years ago: his son Cameron and daughter-in-law Marion.

“Passing Clouds celebrated 50 years last year, and with that milestone came time to pause and reflect for us and our young family," said Cameron and Marion.

"We decided that it is time for us to move on to new pursuits. Whilst we will miss this beautiful property we are excited about our family's next chapter”

Included in the sale is an inventory of wines.

“The 2025 season was the best since the vineyard was planted in 1998," says Cameron Leith.

"We had the highest yields on record and achieved optimum ripeness and quality.”

Passing Clouds is for sale via an Expressions of Interest Process closing 2pm on Friday, June 20. Call 0458 672 643 |or email nick.butler@ljhavalon.com.au

Passing Clouds set to celebrate half a century of winemaking

Very few wineries can boast of having switched regions - but Passing Clouds has been based in two different parts of Victoria during its 50-year history.

Passing Clouds co-founders Graeme Leith and Sue MacKinnon began by planting cabernet sauvignon and shiraz grapes at their original Bendigo vineyard in Kingower, but had the prescience to later past cool-climate varieties at Musk. 

For the past 15 years Passing Clouds has been a popular destination at Musk, just outside of Daylesford in the Macedon Ranges. 

The Leith family, still custodians of the brand, will celebrate 50 years of winemaking later at a special tasting on September 10 - a business "built on story-telling, celebrations, resilience and the wine in the bottle". 

Cameron Leith, who took over from his father in 2007 after a vintage in France, today juggles making the classic Passing Clouds Bendigo wines with the cool-climate varieties - pinot noir and chardonnay - grown at Musk. 

Since 2010, the Macedon Ranges has been become Passing Clouds’ new home, although the vineyards were long established, having planted by Graeme in 1998. 

Today Cameron and Marion Leith and their three children call Musk home and the property now boasts an excellent Dining Room offering lunch, its ow train platform, extensive gardens and an architecturally designed cellar door.

Passing Clouds is at 30 Roddas Lane, Musk, Victoria, and its cellar door is open seven days a week. 

Grazing plates are available on Thursday in the cellar door 11am-3pm while the Dining Room is open for lunch Friday-Monday from noon. 

Bookings are essential for dining. www.passingclouds.com.au/dining-room-bookings 

Onwards and upwards at Passing Clouds

 

The team at Passing Clouds in the Macedon Ranges has unveiled plans for a new dining space where guests can "share food, wine and stories". 

Passing Clouds is located at Musk, a hamlet just a short drive from Daylesford, and has been producing wines since 1974 and hosting food experiences since 2015.

The dining room at Passing Clouds has been described as having a vibe that feels like “coming over to a friends for lunch”.  The food, in my experience, is excellent.

The newly renovated dining area overlooks the estate's cool climate chardonnay and pinot noir vineyards and will offer private dining options for six or more guests. 

The kitchen has been given and upgrade, as has the menu, with head chef Cameron McKenzie given more space and new equipment after seven years cooking over a firepit. 

Guests are encouraged to participate in a personalised wine tasting - with a new wine tasting space outside that allows them to taste the premium cool climate wines of the estate and Bendigo wines that the Leith family has been producing for almost half a century. 

Burgundy trained head winemaker Cameron Leith and his wife Marion moved towards biodynamics and regenerative agricultural practices five years ago. 

From May, the Passing Clouds Dining Room will serve lunch from noon Thursday-Monday with the new space available for groups. 

The cellar door is open seven days a week from 10am. See www.passingclouds.com.au

Images: Marni Hawson