March 2025 Updates

First Siverina Estate newspaper article hot off the press

March 2025

Written by Katrina Miller

We were approached in February to do an interview for an article in the March issue of our local Northern Valley newspaper, so we said yes! It was incredible timing given we are opening up in a few months and many of the locals in the area probably have no idea we exist. We also have zero experience in marketing so any exposure we can get is really appreciated. The cover article was aptly titled “Meet the Millers” and written by Tamieka Preston (https://nvnews.com.au/meet-the-millers/). Our article was great and generously showcased (and hyped) all of our current projects and future plans, including the launch of our first wine and the upcoming opening of our cellar door. It is wonderful to feel supported by the local community, friends and family and those who got amongst it on the socials. It’s been really motivating for us to keep at our current projects that are consuming our life at the moment. A good lesson from being on the cover of the local paper is that it is in fact well read and it’s impossible to escape a bit of healthy roasting from the locals at the Wannamal Tennis Club.

Farm happenings

Grapes

• Our vines are slowly going into dormancy; their leaves started yellowing off late this month. 
• The dead vines at our cellar door are still being pulled out and piled up. Ten rows of Grenache were removed this month but there are many rows to go. We finished clearing a laneway through the vines leading to a beautiful large tree surrounded by vines showcasing the different varieties of grapes grown on the property. 
• We finished some long standing maintenance jobs at the cellar door including painting the water damaged marine ply soffit at the entrance and front end of the building. We also trimmed the beautiful Marri tree on the lawned area outside the cellar door and lightened some load off many of the main branches by removing dead ones. We then meticulously strung festoon lights throughout the tree - this took a whole day! It was pretty magical to go back the next day and see it all lit up.
• Ev has also been getting into some carpentry building display cabinets for our cellar door. I’m still restoring a mid-century lounge suite. We are hoping to move both into the cellar door next month.

Sheep

• Our sheep are cruising through life being constantly rotated in and out of paddocks around the farm to ensure pasture and soil get some rest. 
• We now have some cattle; our new young heifers are getting used to their new surroundings whilst munching on hay to keep them growing through this feed gap.

Flowers 

• Ev is getting ready to plant his next round of seeds this year by sorting soil, retic and fertiliser. He is waiting for consistently cooler weather before he gets it all going this year.
• There are many banksias flowering in the bushland at the cellar door.
• We learnt some basics on growing native flora from cuttings at a Kings Park course. It was very hands on and super helpful. We are keen to grow extra stock from our own cuttings this year. 
• We harvested 10.9kg of honey from our flow hive at home thanks to surrounding eucalypts flowering over summer.
• Otherwise we are warming up for a big plant out in the flower farm next month.