I am so lucky to be working in a business where my children are able to work alongside me daily. Smoko time each day is fantastic, sometimes Joel’s little son Luca comes for a visit or David Handley (a Muirs sales representative, who over the years has become a lovely, life-long friend) stops in for an espresso. On other occasions it’s a time for relaxed business conversation between family members.

The other day Joel (my eldest son) and I were enjoying our second espresso. We were discussing our quickly changing working environment when Joel said “I am so happy in my new winery, I now feel that my winemaking has a home”.

Since retuning to the King Valley to make wine for Pizzini, Joel has had to operate in some difficult and stressful wine making environments. Our sheds have had to be constantly re-arranged for him to make wine while also making it safe and inviting for visitors to cellar door.

Twelve months ago we purchased the neighbouring farm “Nambucca”, which was also once used to grow tobacco. The farm has two large sheds on it. One is a seventy metre long Burley shed once used for air drying tobacco, and the other, a smaller shed which was used to store the bales of dried tobacco ready for market. These spaces now provide the perfect, convenient space for Joel to make and store his wines.

Over the past three months the Burley shed’s walls have been lined with insulation and its floor concreted. Joel has already relocated his stainless steel tanks and is currently working with a draftsperson to design walkways and platforms to link them. Joel’s barrels now also have a permanent home. There will be no more moving them in and out of the walkway to cellar door and old barrel rooms to create space for our visitors over event weekends.

Joel has never complained about the nomadic approach to his winemaking set up, but I can see now what he means by having a “home”. This space is his to use as he likes in order to achieve his winemaking goals. When fully completed it will be a professionally presented winery of which he is already very proud and happy to be working in.

Declining a third espresso, I thought to myself, now that I have made one child happy, I have three more to go…it is an enjoyable pastime!

(From the Pizzini Wines Newsletter Nov/Dec 2009).