Black Rabbit Distillery
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Boutique distillery among the orchards of Victoria's Goulburn Valley near Shepparton, producing rye whisky and single malt from in-house malted barley alongside gin, apple brandy (calva) and cherry vodka. Founded by Sam and Fiona Wieland. Uses Goulburn Valley plums for base spirit and local malting barley from farms just kilometres away. Whisky matured in 250L ex-red wine casks from Goulburn Valley wineries. Innovative and unconventional fermentation and distillation techniques with a focus on sustainability and creating unique flavour profiles.
Production Details
The Black Rabbit Distillery Tale
In the Goulburn Valley's fruit bowl, where plum orchards stretch toward the Murray River and red wine vines climb gentle slopes, Sam and Fiona Wieland found their calling in 2019. Here in Kialla, just outside Shepparton, they built Black Rabbit Distillery among the agricultural abundance that would become their raw material.
The Goulburn Valley water that feeds their operation has nurtured this land for generations—the same water that swells the stone fruit and fills the grain heads in paddocks just kilometres from their door. The Wielands source their malting barley from these neighboring farms, closing a loop between soil and spirit that speaks to Australia's emerging whisky philosophy: work with what the land gives you.
Inside their boutique operation, innovation drives every decision. The couple employs unconventional fermentation and distillation techniques, pushing beyond traditional Scottish methods to create something distinctly Australian. Their approach extends beyond whisky—they craft gin, apple brandy, and cherry vodka, but it's their use of Goulburn Valley plums for base spirit that reveals their commitment to place. In a country where whisky makers often look overseas for inspiration, the Wielands look to their own backyard.
Their whisky matures in 250-litre ex-red wine casks sourced from local wineries, another marriage of the valley's agricultural traditions. These smaller barrels accelerate maturation in Victoria's variable climate, where hot summers and cool winters create the kind of wood interaction that might take decades in Scotland. The wine casks carry the terroir of Goulburn Valley grapes, adding layers of local character to spirits made from local grain.
Sustainability threads through every process, reflecting a new generation of Australian distillers who understand that their country's whisky future depends on respecting the environment that makes it possible. The Wielands represent this pioneering spirit—not the frontier courage of clearing land, but the modern courage of working within its limits to create something unprecedented.
At Black Rabbit, the whisky is still young, the methods still evolving. But in the Goulburn Valley's agricultural heart, Sam and Fiona Wieland are writing Australia's next whisky chapter, one unconventional batch at a time.