Role: Owner/vigneron

Winery: COLMAR ESTATE

What got you into wine initially?

In 1977, I set off on a four-month cycling tour around the great wine regions of France and Germany.

Travelling alone and staying in youth hostels, I cycled through the Loire Valley, Chablis, Burgundy, Alsace, Rhine Valley, Mosel Valley and Champagne.

The famous vineyards, colourful vignerons, the old cellars, wonderful wines where such a rich experience.

From that time forward I had one long-term ambition: to own a vineyard one day.

What can visitors expect when visiting your cellar door?

From our cellar door visitors can see our entire vineyard, the source of all of the fruit for our wines.

It's a gorgeous vista. We offer premium wines presented by people with a deep passion for our project.

What's your favourite Colmar Estate wine?

Year after year the critics praise our riesling and it's certainly a variety that's close to our hearts.

Our style is different to mainstream Australian riesling, most of which comes from regions that are significantly warmer than ours.

There is a real wow factor to Colmar Estate Riesling.

If someone is new to wine, what would you recommend they taste?

We see lots of people at our cellar door who are just commencing their journey into wine.

We try to demystify it, avoid all the 'winebabble', and make it fun. Try this variety. Do you like the smell? Do you like the taste? Now try this variety. See the difference?

What makes your wines unique and special?

At 980 metres above sea level our vineyard is one of the highest in the Orange district and very cool by Australian standards.

Our grapes ripen in the autumn, the flavours develop slowly, natural acidity is retained and finally the whole vineyard is picked by hand.

The result is wines of great purity and freshness, with bell-clear varietal expression.

What are 3 Orange wines that you'd recommend?

I love Swift Vintage 2015, a nice example of just how good sparkling wine from Orange can be.

Byrne Farm's 2023 Chardonnay stands out in a sea of beautiful chardonnays in this region.

Ross Hill 2022 Cabernet Franc is a wonderful example of this variety which has a great future in Orange.

The next generation steps up at Colmar Estate

Our daughter Sarah Shrapnel has joined us at Colmar Estate in the role of marketing manager.

A graphic designer, Sarah has assumed responsibilities for the marketing strategy, the website, label design and all social media.

Her passion for both riesling and sparkling wines has already thrown the production team some interesting challenges.

Sarah's partner, Zoltan Csaki, provides strategic advice and online marketing expertise.

Sarah and Zoltan's skills complement those of Jane and me perfectly. Their joining Colmar Estate sets us up for a very exciting future.