When did you realise you wanted to become a winemaker?

Winemaking and I sort of fell in love with each other during my twenties. I had studied electronics and was working on a career in IT, when the fascination of wine started to take hold and I began making wine in my garage in Melbourne. Soon it had totally absorbed me, and I needed to know everything I could about winemaking and the industry.

Please tell us about your career so far.

I grew up in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and originally studied electronics before working in the IT sector for fifteen years. You could say my path to this industry is anything but logical. I spent two vintages with a small producer in the Heathcote region in the early 2000s and continued to buy small parcels of fruit to make wine from across several Victorian wine regions. In 2010 the Harman Wines brand was established with a release of a Gippsland chardonnay and pinot noir. I was lucky to gain an opportunity to co-lease a South Gippsland vineyard which really helped speed up my knowledge on the vineyard side of things. Being largely self-taught and having an incredible appetite to learn, experiment and challenge myself to develop, I think I’ll still be learning and trying new ideas in wine until my last bottle is filled.

What do you love most about being a winemaker?

What initially interested me is what keeps me going today. I love working with the seasons knowing every day will be different. As much as I love planning, this job always loves to throw a curveball to keep you on your toes. You need to adapt and evolve as the business grows and consumer preferences change.

What is your favourite wine, and what food do you typically pair it with?

I get very spoiled when it comes to food pairing. Having a restaurant at the cellar door, we love nothing better than creating dishes to best match our wines. In saying that, I absolutely love sitting around a fire overlooking the vineyard with friends sharing a bottle of pinot noir with butterflied lamb and maybe a goat cheese salad.

Is there a specific process you follow when developing a new wine?

Being a small producer, I have the luxury of always being able to play with batches of grapes from different vineyards. I don’t follow any specific process or defined methodology but rather taste the grapes as they come in and try to work out how to
best represent them in a bottle

Is there any vintage you’re particularly proud of creating? Why?

Most vintages have great meaning to me in each of their own rights, be it a tough growing season or a surprise packet of wine going into a bottle that shines a few years down the track. The 2018 Pinot Noir 612 Estate wine is one of those for me. The first release of our 612 Estate range wines I look back on fondly. True to its site of origin, and a symbol for us and the evolution of our wine journey.

How does the local climate/soil affect the wine you make?

t’s always said that great wines come from great vineyards. Our main vineyard is only 7-kilometres from Bass Strait, so it’s in charge of our weather patterns. We can rely on the cooling afternoon and evening sea breezes during the summer months to help slow the grape ripening down to ensure we get great body and flavour in our grapes. It usually also helps keep the disease pressure down in the vineyard which is a bonus. The soils help produce the heart and soul of a wine. While we all rely on the vineyards to produce beautiful fruit, it’s up to the winemaker to add elegance and grace to those grapes as they transition from grape to wine.

Which of your own varieties do you typically indulge in?

To a Winemaker that’s like asking any parent which child they prefer. In saying that I love pinot noir and choose Gippsland as a region to grow it, so I do have a very close connection to it. I also like nothing better than a pinot gris in the warmer months.