The Boynton Family

Have you ventured into our Cellar Door and noticed the plethora of medals, oars and rowing memorabilia? There is a Boynton’s family history hidden behind the displays. The Boynton’s collection started way back when Kel's Grandfather Valjean Boynton and his brother Frank (F.A.H. Boynton) were members of the winning 8 in the Head of the River of 1906. Kel's Great Uncle Dick Boynton rowed in 3 Victorian Kings Cup Crews, winning in 1946 and 1947, and was a member of the 1948 Olympic squad but did not compete. Coming from a line of athletically inclined relations, Kel has participated in many regattas in skulls, pairs, fours and eights but the highlight was winning the World Masters sculls and double skulls in Seville, Spain, in 1999. Mieke, Kel’s eldest, also rowed for Victoria then switched sports to become a member of the 2006 Australian Olympic bobsleigh team. Kel still has a passion for rowing and we will be sure to see Kel teaching Boston and Zara a thing or two about the art in years to come. Kel has three older children Mieke, Carla and Valjean Boynton. This vintage is out in the big wide world putting the Boynton name to occupations outside the wine industry. Carla, continues working on large scale transformation projects in a transition and behavioral change management capacity. Mieke is living up in the Kimberley in WA and earning accolades with her landscape photography. You can check out some of her stunning work from her online gallery here. Valjean, post studying entrepreneurship at RMIT, continues his interest in beverages with his second entrepreneurial venture underway. Kel, a viticulturalist and winemaker, and Janelle, an architect and project manager by trade, met in 2000 on the terraced gardens of Boynton’s. Kel, in need of a good architect and Janelle who appreciates a good wine married in 2003, beginning their new vintage. Now with two children, Boston who is 8 and Zara 7, Boynton’s Feathertop Winery has moved into a new chapter. For those of you who visited last summer, you may remember Boston’s fascination with bugs, spiders were a favourite which only came second to grasshoppers. Boston was only too happy to share his newly found pets with our Cellar Door customers. Well now you’ll be pleased to know his favourite critters are now reptiles… and sharks. You can rest assured we are pretty confident sharks don’t fit in our Cellar Door. Zara is a budding socialite who always enjoys a chat and whether in her princess dress or the mud she can always be found not far from Cellar Door.
	Zara and Boston in their new pizza oven!
	Mieke, Veljean and Carla in 1983
	Mieke, Veljean and Carla 23 years on.

It would be unfair to give you a snap shot of the Boynton’s Family without mentioning Feathertop the dog (who was named after the wine, not the other way around!). He is a cute black and white Maltese Shitzu. If you have popped into our Cellar Door before, you will have been greeted by him running across the roof of the Boynton’s residence located above. We believe Feathertop is catching up to the “dog on the tucker box” as the most photographed… “dog on the roof”.

Chook Mahal is home to Kel’s eclectic group of chooks who roam the vineyard as our natural pest controllers.

Do come visit us as we all love to have a chat and share our dreams as well as our spectacular views of Mount Buffalo and the valley.

Hope to see you soon.