Completing winemaking studies at Roseworthy College together in 1993, David came back to the Yarra at De Bortoli Wines to a new winemaking position while Nicky headed to Seppelt Great Western.

After a 10 year tenure, which included added winemaking stints in Burgundy (Louis Latour), Alsace (Paul Blanck) and Beaujolais (Chateau Bluizard), Dave decided to move on across the valley to Oakridge Wines in 2002. Nicky’s first vintage in the Yarra was Coldstream Hills in 1997 as vineyard manager and maintained that role until 2001.

Fast forward to the present day at Oakridge, where he still is the Chief Winemaker, Oakridge was awarded the number one winery in Australia by both the Halliday Wine Companion and Houn Hooke’s Real Review in 2023. Along the way, other highlights included David as co-founder of the Pinot Workshop (2002), duxing the Len Evans Tutorial (2005) and being named the Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year in 2017. 

Missing from this as an itch to scratch. To have the ultimate busman's holiday and create and make their own wine and brand of their own. 

In 2011, viticulturist Ray Guerin rang David and asked him if he was interested in buying some fruit from the the legendary site Bastard Hill in Gladysdale. And from that opportunity, bicknellfc was born, with the idea of making random wines from vineyards of interesting provenance.

Over the next 3 years, wines were made from both Yarra Valley and Gippsland resulting in bicknellfc winning the Best New Winery at the Halliday Wine Awards in 2016. 

During 2014, they were able to lease the pocket sized vineyard next door to Bastard Hill owned by Val Stewart. This became the focal point of the business for the next 10 years - growing and making chardonnay and pinot noir, under the ‘applecross’ label.

A third wine was introduced and the only wine made in 2023, a small quantity of syrah from the Marianna vineyard in Coldstream. 

The chardonnay and pinot noir from Val’s vineyard in 2022, are the final year we produced from this site, the Pinot Noir is still available for purchase online and locally. 

Now the wheel has turned back to a less stable fruit base again, but looking towards interesting sites of high quality.

Enter the excellent 2024 vintage and the grapes from the legendary Lance vineyard of Diamond Valley became available, giving us a tranche of future releases in 2025. 

The wines will be a chardonnay and a massale selection of pinot noir under the ‘applecross’ label plus two special small bottling’s. One from the close planted pinot noir block planted in 1989, perhaps one of the oldest high density pinot plantings in the country, the other from the old vine cabernet sauvignon block planted in 1976.