The year 2009 Oldest vine celebration at the McWilliams Lillydale Estate in Melbourne is also a farewell for traditional Yarra Ranges Old Vine celebration, as we know it for the last 9 years.

On Sunday, March 29, 2009, in cooperation with McWilliams Lillydale, we will celebrate the harvest of the descendants the world’s oldest vine, planted in 2001 on the McWilliams Lillydale Estate on the outskirts of Melbourne. The offspring of the Oldest vine was donated to the community of Yarra Ranges after the intervention of our compatriots and for nine years Max McWilliams Estate carefully nursed our young offspring of the world oldest vine.

For many years, with the cooperation of the Office for Slovenians abroad and with the participation of individuals, Slovenian organizations and the Municipality of Yarra Ranges, we celebrated and looked forward first to the growth and in recent years also in the harvest, which we have always marked with a joyful cultural celebration.

Sadly, this year’s harvest is the last in cooperation with this well-known wine-making company, because it is closing its doors to the public due to business decisions.

How to deal in the future with this important project is a matter of agreement between the initiator and the coordinator of the project, Vinko Rizmal, the McWilliams Estate and the Yarra Ranges community. We are all aware of the importance of this decision and I am sure that the decision on the future of this offspring of the World Oldest Vine in Australia, donated to the Shire of Yarra Ranges will be for all of us positive.

We will work out the plan so we will continue to celebrate many cultural activities along the way, thus strengthening and deepening the Slovene-Australian cooperation.

The final vintage of the Old Vine on the McWilliams estate will be on Sunday, March 29, 2009, starting at 12.00. After a short cultural program, we will gladly enjoy cheerful music, our grape pickers will again be expertly harvesting this year’s crop, and also for food and drink will be taken care of. Of course, we will all be toasted with a glass of last year’s wine produced from grapes harvested last year at the first official harvest.  

 I thank all those who will do their best to make the 2009 Old Vine Festival in Melbourne worthy and proud of great experiences about the activities of our countrymen in Australia.

Poslovilna trgatev potomke mariborske Stare trte na posestvu McWilliams vinarne v Melbournu Avstralija

V nedeljo, 29. marca 2009, bomo v sodelovanju z vinarno McWilliams Lillydale zadnjič praznovali trgatev potomke
najstarejše trte na svetu, posajene leta 2001 na posestvu vinarne McWilliams Lillydale  na obronkih Melbourna. Trta je bila    podarjena občini Yarra Ranges po posredovanju naših rojakov in devet let je Max McWilliams skrbno negoval našo mladiko. Vsako leto smo s sodelovanjem Urada za Slovence po svetu in s sodelovanjem posameznikov, slovenskih organizacij ter občino Yarra Ranges slavili in se veselili najprej ob rasti in v zadnjih letih tudi ob trgatvi, ki smo jo vedno obeležili z veselim kulturnim programom.

Letošnja trgatev je zadnja v sodelovanju s to znano vinarno, saj zaradi poslovnih odločitev zapira svoja vrata za javnost.

Kako bo z našo potomko Stare trte v bodoče, je stvar dogovora med iniciatorjem in koordinatorjem projekta Vinkom Rizmalom, vinarno McWilliams in občino Yarra Ranges. Vsi odgovorni se zavedamo pomembnosti te odločitve in prepričan sem, da bo odločitev o bodočnosti uradno podarjene potomke Stare trte v Avstraliji za vse nas pozitivna in da bomo še naprej ob trti slavili veliko kulturnih aktivnosti in s tem krepili in  poglabljali slovensko-avstralsko sodelovanje.

Zaključna trgatev Stare trte na posestvu McWilliams bo v nedeljo, 29. marca 2009, s pričetkom ob 12.00 uri. Po kratkem kulturnem programu se bomo po tradiciji  razveselili ob veseli glasbi, naši brači bodo zopet strokovno obrali letošnji pridelek in tudi za hrano in pijačo bo poskrbljeno. Seveda bomo vsi nazdravili s kozarcem lanskega vina, ki je nastalo iz grozdja, nabranega lani na prvi uradni trgatvi.

Zahvaljujem se vsem, ki bodo po svojih močeh pripomogli, da bo tudi  Festival Stare trte 2009 v Melbournu dostojno in s ponosom zabeležen v knjigo velikih doživetij o aktivnostih naših rojakov v Avstraliji.

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED, SUPPORTED AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE OLD VINE EVENTS IN AUSTRALIA. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS, INDIVIDUALS, SPONSORS AND DONATORS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION AND SUPPORT IN THE YEARS 2001 – 2009.

 Sponsors – donators 2009 Event
The Office for Slovenians Abroad of the Republic of Slovenia

Lestro Ledinek Sloveni

 AJM Maribor

Coates Lilydale Hire Services