Preece chose an old grazing estate, then known as Blackwood Park, in the Nagambie district in central Victoria for its climate, soil and proximity to the waterways. The site's history stretches back to 1836, when the explorer Major Thomas Mitchell crossed the river on his 900 kilometre journey from Sydney to Melbourne, at a place called Mitchellstown. Ross Shelmerdine called his fledgling winery Mitchelton, a derivation of Mitchellstown and the vineyard's first sod was turned in 1969. Don Lewis joined Preece for the fledgling winery's first vintage in 1973, and assumed the winemaker's mantle when Preece retired in 1974. That same year, Mitchelton's winery and spectacular cellar door complex, designed by renowned Australian architect Ted Ashton and complete with 55 metre tower, was officially opened. Mitchelton»