Dream Run

With grapevines, a vegie patch and livestock to tend, this Mornington Peninsula property ensures action-packed escapes for a prominent Melbourne family. And there’s always room for a lunch or dinner with friends.

- Deborah Grant

When Samantha and Charlie Baillieu are at Bulldog Run, the first chore of the day is letting the chickens out, followed by spot checks on the animals and grapes. It’s a busy yet rewarding routine for the couple, who divide time between the 120ha farm and vineyard and their home in Melbourne.

“We have a strong country heritage and are quite attached to some of the horses and cattle we breed,” says Sam. A tireless philanthropist, she has retail barons Anthony Hordern and Sydney Myer on her family tree. Charlie, a financier, is a direct descendant of influential businessman WL Baillieu.

With industry and retail in their blood, it’s not surprising that the couple and their three adult children – Christopher, 26, Georgia, 25, and Hamish, 23 – have developed a thriving enterprise of their own, one that dovetails neatly with farm life.

Seven years ago they came up with the concept of Merricks General Wine Store, a cellar door for the wines they produce at Bulldog Run and Elgee Park, an adjoining property owned by Sam’s parents. Its buzzing restaurant and retail arm has made Merricks one of the go-to pitstops on the Mornington Peninsula.