The Suburban Winemaker - The Numbers are Huge

By Jono • July 17, 2008

AÂ colleague of mine who is an avid wine enthusiast and consumer here in Australia has now moved to the next level of his wine passion and education. He’s been asking me where he could find a wine barrel. I initially thought he just wanted to get a few old barrels to make flower pots out of them. But when he asked me where to get a new one, the penny dropped.

As with many serious winos who are not in the industry, he’s decided to have a go at making his own wine.Â However, he’s not buying grapes and crushing and fermenting them. Rather he’s buying finished Chardonnay wine (although not ready for bottling) out of tank, and filling his new barrel.Â So basically all he has to do is wait for 12 months or so, make sure SO2 and topping is up to date, and then filter, and bottle the wine in his shed.Â The wine is only for his personal consumption, and family and friends of course.

This is no big deal, but it is something I’m seeing more and more in subruban Australia.Â The tide may well be turning, or at least proportions, on the home beer brewer toward the home winemaker. I’m yet to see a home winemaking convenience store, but I’m sure someone has got the wheels in motion already.

Categories: Blog
Tags:

About the Author

Jono

Jono has been involved in the wine industry since he was quite young. His parents had a small vineyard and winery in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, and spent plenty of school holidays working in the vineyard and winery. He completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Oenology) from the University of Adelaide (formely the Roseworthy Agricultural College). He also holds a Post Graduate Degree in Business Management from Monash University. His wine industry experience include working as a winemaker for Petaluma in the Adelaide Hills under the legendary Brian Croser. He was then sent to Smithbrook in the Pemberton region of Western Australia, then owned by Petaluma. He spent 6 years at Smithbrook managing the vineyard and winery, and during that time also completed a vintage at Chateau Carsin in Bordeaux. The two years leading into 2008, he traveled the world with his partner sampling the worlds best wines, and also fulfilling his other passion of equestrian competition.