Pics From The Past | Excelsior Vineyard and Winery

By Geoff Allemand

Feb 23, 2024

Stories in the lines: Excelsior Vineyard sketch by Be Colechin, 1980. Photo by Contributed

Back in 2013, I had a photography bug. In June of that year, I started the Lost Shepparton and Lost Mooroopna Facebook pages. I was on the hunt for photo content both online and by travelling the district and taking photos. Over time, people generously shared with me their photos as slides or in their photo albums. Many photos I have taken have a story behind them, and one of the Excelsior Vineyard buildings on Excelsior Ave, Mooroopna, brings back memories.

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I was taking photos from the road from different angles, and the owner of the land spotted me and was not too happy. He explained that he was battling with trespassers who were stealing items off the property. As this building was quite well known, he was okay with me sharing the photo. He then proceeded to tell me some of the history of his family’s property, which was first owned by Trojano Darveniza back in 1871.

One of the primary industrialists to come to Mooroopna in the 19th century was Trojano Darveniza. Born in 1838 to Austrian parents in Dalmatia (now a part of Yugoslavia), Trojano came to Victoria during the gold rushes in the 1860s. After some success, he secured 320 acres of land in Mooroopna in 1871 to establish a vineyard and winemaking business.

By 1890, Excelsior Wines was a well-established business with over a hundred acres of land under vines. Stocking shiraz, cabernet, mataro, muscat, chasselas, pedro and riesling, the business became quickly acclaimed as a notable force in Victoria’s exporting industry, with cellar storage rising to 60,000 gallons.

‘Celebrated’: Excelsior Wine Depot in Fryers St, 1897. Its location is where Pinch of Salt is today. Photo by Contributed

Between 1888 and 1897, the Darveniza wines and spirits were exported across the world and won over 300 prizes for Australia, including nine championships, 18 special gold, five silver and five bronze medals in European cities. During his impressive tenure as one of Victoria’s chief wine-makers, Troiano was also elected a member of the Grand Jury of France.

In January 1897, Trojano set up the Excelsior Wine Depot in Wyndham St (Johnson’s Buildings), Shepparton, to sell his world-class wines to the public. He eventually sold the retailing rights for the sale of his wines in the district to W. P. O’Connell. In 1897, O’Connell moved into a more ‘commodious’ shop in the Stott’s Building, and later that year, he upgraded again to shift to Fryers St, where it was called The Celebrated Excelsior Wine Depot. In 1938, it was upgraded again to be called the Excelsior Wine Hall. “The Excelsior Wine Hall in Fryers St, opposite the Star Theatre, has been completed. Shepparton is now possessed of a modern saloon that compares more than favourably with many in Melbourne. The old building had been established on the present site at the beginning of the century. The building consists of a salon and bottle lounge and ladies’ and gents’ parlours (Shepparton Advertiser, 1938). This building, in later years, became Pinch Of Salt.

Another fascinating aside about this now-defunct vineyard regards the familiar labelling printed on its bottles. The Excelsior Wines trademark, pictured here in colour, bares a remarkable similarity to the official Australian Coat of Arms.

Proudly Australian: An Excelsior vermouth sticker. Photo by Contributed

Local myth-making claims that the Australian Government copied the Mooroopna vigneron’s design, registering it officially some 20 years after Excelsior Wines. It’s a good yarn, for sure, but in reality, this legend has been unable to be verified by official documentation and remains likely a tattletale.

Trojano never married, but the winery was passed along the line to his nephews on his brother’s side.

Eventually, the winery ceased to function by the late 1970s, and the old buildings and equipment fell into disrepair.

Disrepair: Excelsior Vineyard-Winery in 2013. Photo by Geoff Allemand

The Excelsior Ave site is currently listed as being of heritage inventory significance, with the Victorian Government noting that the site and buildings have high significance with regional industry, prominent people and ethnic groups.