On Marking Time's official history page, Marking Time is mentioned 0 times. The brand tells a story of Australian origin while the corporate reality is carefully omitted.
Marking Time was established in 2014 by winemaker Sarah Crowe and partner Michael McManus in Victoria's Yarra Valley. Crowe had previously built her reputation at Yarra Yering, winning the prestigious Young Gun of Wine award in 2014. The brand was conceived as a personal project to explore single-site expressions from premium Victorian vineyards. It has remained a small-scale, family-owned operation focused on quality over volume, with production staying deliberately limited.
No deception detected. Marking Time operates as a transparent, winemaker-owned label. The principals are clearly identified, and there's no attempt to obscure ownership or inflate the brand's scale.
Profits remain with the Australian owners and are reinvested in Victorian winemaking. Revenue supports local grape growers in the Yarra Valley and Heathcote regions.
Purchasing Marking Time directly supports independent Australian winemaking and regional Victorian grape growers. Your dollars stay within the Australian wine economy rather than flowing to offshore corporate accounts.
If you enjoy Marking Time, you're already drinking well. Similar independents include Mac Forbes (Yarra Valley), Jamsheed (multiple Victorian regions), and Lethbridge Wines (Geelong) — all winemaker-owned operations.