HentyFarm Family
Like all good things in life, the Hentyfarm dream cannot be realised without harnessing the skills of so many passionate people.
From viticulturalists and winemakers right through to distributors and marketers. We all work together with a singular goal in mind: to bring our beloved Hentyfarm wine to your table. Please meet our extended family.
Read more about the individuals that go into making Hentyfarm Wines.
Alistair & Alice Taylor
Alistair and Alice first planted vineyards in Heywood in 1990, but Alice’s family has been living in Henty for years. Her family gave the couple its first small block of land called “Cobboboonee Vineyard” and from then on, the farming practice of grape growing became an incredible passion both Alice and Alistair. They saved in order to plant their first vines but all their hard work paid off – in 2000 they won Victorian Vineyard of the year. In 2008 they stepped it up a notch and began supplying Seppelt with A-grade grapes.
Their meticulously maintained vines are close planted (2mx2mx2m), which helps increase intensity of the fruit’s flavour and maximises all available sunlight. The soil type is sandy loam (red terra rossa) over limestone bedrock. Alastair engages cane pruning and vertical shoot positioning.
The Hentyfarm family is really proud of Alistair’s involvement in Henty gaining its official GI status in 2000. He’s served as the Henty Grape Growers Association president for more than 10 years.
Jack & Lois Doevan
Jack and Lois call themselves biological farmers, following strict sustainable and organic farming practices in all their endeavours. They first came to the region in 1981, when Jack ran a gardening business in Portland. While gallivanting on holiday with friends, Jack caught the wine bug and came home with his heart set on planting a vineyard. Despite limited funds, they purchased a part-swamp piece of land and began building their future livelihood and the roof over their heads with mud bricks.
They first planted pinot noir in 1989 and have progressively trialled different varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon (unsuccessfully), and in 2000 planted a block of Riesling affectionately called the “University Block” as it has helped fund their three children’s university education.
Pinot gris was planted in 1999, and it’s been back-breaking work, including having to re-plant twice due to poor strike rate. The block now produces great fruit with intense flavour.
All the fruit is hand picked, often using a handful of the same local pickers as when they first started out 30 years ago. Jack and Lois work extremely hard on compost heaps, which are hand forked onto the vines, and they’re working on producing a compost “tea”, which replaces missing nutrients in the soil.
If we ever need to boost our spirit at Hentyfarm, we chat to Jack and Lois. They talk about their struggles over the last 30 years with a gratifying smile on their faces – we can tell it’s been rewarding when we taste the fruit of their labour.
Stockonhand Wines
Evan Milne from #stockonhand wines
Evan started working with us in early 2012 and has become a vital part of the Hentyfarm family. Evan owns and operates #stockonhand wines, which is a wine distributor focused on Melbourne restaurants and fine wine retailers. We are so grateful for the access Evan gives us to some of the great wine lists in Melbourne.
Single Vineyard Sellers
Single Vineyard sellers is a wholesale and distributor of premium wine. Since 2003, we have sourced wines from independently owned wineries across Australia, New Zealand, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Germany. We also offer a range of Grappa, Mead and Honey. Our focus is on single vineyard producers, and our shared philosophy is: ‘if we wouldn’t drink it, we won’t sell it’, so if you enjoy wine the way we do, you can be guaranteed the quality of all our wines.
Ray & Marie Nadeson
In 2017 we moved our wine production to Ray Nadeson at Lethbridge wine in Geelong. Ray is an amazing winemaker with a depth of experience making wines with styles consistent with Hentyfarm’s heritage and vision.
Ray also has experience with making wines from fruit grown in the Henty region having made some of his wines from growers in Henty for many years.
We look forward to a terrific future making and enjoying wines made under Ray’s supervision.