EVEN after days when January's relentless sun takes its toll on farmers in the Buckland Valley, a cool evening air descends on the Michelini family's vineyard like only air among mountains can. Up there where grapes now thrive 300 meters above sea level and fall quickly under the afternoon shadow of Mt Buffalo, Emo Michelini once came and wondered why no-one had planted vines. Born in a village amid the high altitude vineyards of northeast Italy, Emo knew what the rich alluvial soils, long warm summer days and cool nights of this valley could one day help to yield.

Tobacco rather than vines dominated the Ovens Valley landscape when Emo arrived in Myrtleford in the 1950's with all of the 20 pounds to his name. He joined other Italian migrants in the tobacco fields but held on to the idea of preserving his family's heritage in Australia. Many years after buying and clearing land in the Buckland Valley to plant his own tobacco, Emo secured a contract to supply fruit for Orlando's sparkling wines. When he planted the first pinor noir and Chardonnay vines in terra rossa soil beside the Buckland River in 1982, a viticulture tradition going back centuries had finally arrived. Emo has lived not only to see his vineyard prosper and grow to 36 hectares, but has stood and raised a toast with Deputy Premier Pat McNamara to mark the opening of his winery in 1996. Now 73, he leaves much of the work to sons Ilario and Dino, who continue to grow tobacco as well as grapes on the family farm. Orlando still buys the bulk of their fruit, but the Michelinis produced 25,000 bottles of their own wine in 1997 and began bottling last year's vintage this week.

While the industry has long recognised the region's suitability for producing premium fruit for sparkling wine, growing grapes in this district is not without its challenges and difficulties. The Michelinis have sprinklers on 20 hectares of the vineyard to counter the constant threat of frosts in the colder months and use a helicopter for the remaining vines on nights of high danger. With the cool climate also comes the increased threat of powdery mildew and botrytis, so much so that 18-20 sprays a year and vigilant canopy management are essential. Then there are periodic floods. In 1993, the Michelini crop was reduced from the usual eight tonnes an acre to a single tonne when frosts struck only days after the Buckland River broke its banks. But as Ilario and Dino point out, the rewards of growing grapes in the Buckland Valley are as rich as the soils in which their vines are planted.

On top of the pinor noir and Chardonnay, they have Merlot vines which once made up the biggest plantings of the variety in the Southern Hemisphere. An Italian variety called marzemino, the native grape of Emo's birthplace, also grows in the vineyard and was blended with Merlot in 1997 to produce what was called Marzemo. A cabernet, Riesling and shiraz were also made from fruit sourced from the King Valley, while another wine rarely seen in Australia called Fragolino is another sign of the family's Italian roots. Made from grapes called Fragola- the Italian word for strawberry-the wine is available only in small quantities and is fast disappearing from the Michelinis' cellar door. Back in the Buckland Valley, at the house Dino built on a rise overlooking the farm, is a picture of the other Michelini vineyard, the one belonging to his uncle in Trentino. Now making wine under the same name but on the opposite side of the world in Victoria, the brothers said their father always knew grapes would come to the north-east. "Grape growing was in his blood and he always wanted to have his own destiny." Ilario said.