Before long, the V³ vineyard was born. Located in Spring Flat, 8 kms out of Mudgee, it comprised of a single 6 acre, gently sloping, irrigated and NorthSouth-facing vineyard made up of 27 rows — 13 Cabernet Sauvignon and 14 Shiraz; both from original Barossa clones.

It was never our intention to sell up and leave our home in St Ives, Sydney, but in 2011, the pull from the other side of the Blue Mountains became too hard to resist. And in 2011, we also celebrated 10 years of the passion, pain and pleasure that accompanies this time-honoured tradition.

The Passion:
Both father and son love wine and every vintage is made in a style endorsed by us. Traditional and elegant, rounded and pleasurable to drink. Wine of character and quality.

We started small so that no commercial loan would dictate the necessity to bottle our vintage at any set time, leaving us to focus solely on the essence of great winemaking.

The Pain:
The Bird Battle. It's us against them for 6 weeks every year. As soon as the grapes start to ripen, the starlings line up along the electric fence wire, waiting for their V³ meal ticket. We've discovered their penchant for Cabernet Sauvignon can be discouraged by a gas gun or four, as well as some well-deployed netting.

But the biggest hiccup we had was when we lost 40% of the vines shortly after planting. The guys who set up the vineyard simply disappeared with their money, leaving this Senior Executive city-slicker to figure things out on his own. I felt like a kindergartner all over again, except his time I was also strapped onto a speeding rollercoaster! Working, learning, tasting, discovering a new vocabulary, obsessing, stressing; yet still sharing a thrill in watching the vineyard take hold. With diligence and the right help, we climbed up the steep learning curve, accepting each challenge with gusto and embarking on an unforgettable V³ journey.

The Pleasure:
And the reward awaiting us at the end is a real Aussie wine. A beautifully structured blend of Cabernet and Shiraz epitomised for me by Rockford’s Rod and Spur; Yalumba’s classy Signature series and their Scribbler wines; and the Penfold 389s from the 1990s.