Vines crop up to be a winner

You don't have to look far these days to see that winegrowing has become a very successful adjunct to traditional farming operations. For a small handful of producers, the fruits of their labours can be very sweet indeed.

Twenty years ago, Bernard Brain and his brothers John and Graeme were typical of many farming families in Tasmania. Together, they worked the historic (1842) property of Rotherwood, one of the upper Derwent Valley's first farming ventures.

For the three brothers, life was much the same as it had been since their parents Brian and Lorna Brain first acquired the property as a soldier settlement back in 1947. There were sheep and hay in the paddocks, and a thriving Angus cattle breeding program that Brian began back in the mid-1950s.

Idyllic sounding, farming in this relatively dry and remote location on the edge of the Centre Highlands offered plenty of challenges. The 1000ha venture was paying its way but it was hardly a vibrant and innovative business for a young Ouse bloke and his nursing sister wife who were keen to smooth out the industry's financial peaks and troughs.

That was when Bernard and Margaret Brain took a long hard look at their balance sheets and decided they could be doing better for themselves in a more diversified operation.

"We bought out John and Graeme's stakes in the business in 2005," explains the University of New England graduate who chose to remain on the family farm rather than work elsewhere in agronomy.

"We set about a program of diversification by expanding the underground irrigation we began with Dad back in 1988. Today, we water 350ha. I reckon there's probably another 50ha we could do."

The critical million-dollar farm infrastructure accesses irrigation water from the Ouse River.

The merinos, fat lambs, and Angus stud cattle that have long dotted the picturesque landscapes here now vie for attention with fields of poppies, barley, wheat, seed crops, peas and fennel. There's also an 8.5ha vineyard producing ultra-premium wine grapes for some of Australia's best winemakers. 

The couple's astute financial and agricultural management saw Bernard Brain receive nomination as a finalist for Australian Diversification Farmer of the Year in 2011. The following year saw him striding the national stage as the award's ultimate prize-winner.

Two years on – and with summer harvests and vintage 2014 well and truly behind them – the Brains are again thinking about expanding their business. A few more hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – and possibly Riesling, too, given its recent enthusiastic support from Treasury Wine Estates – are at the top of their minds.

Cool climate viticulture has been kind to them, the couple admit. But Rotherwood's success at the pointy end of the market did not happen overnight.

"We gave things a lot of thought first," Brain recalls.

"Long before we decided to develop a vineyard on a commercial scale, we put in a small trial block at the back of the house. Then we installed data loggers three years before we made our initial planting. That gave us some useful data we could compare with other established vineyard sites. At the outset, were weren't even sure we could ripen our grapes. The weather events here can be quite extreme at times."

Signing a contract with Hardys back in 2002 offered additional encouragement but no real financial support. The wine giant's guaranteed purchase of fruit for the vineyard's first 10 years simply removed the risk of the couple having to sell their wine grapes at market prices.

It was good timing, nevertheless.

"Timing is everything in this industry," Brain says.

"About the only quiet period we get is a few weeks after vintage, before pruning. Come spring, we're juggling hay and silage making, sheep shearing, crop planting and vineyard spraying. 

We're always moving quickly in order to get on with the next job." 

First published July/August 2014: Tasmanian Farmer, issue 74