MICHAELWOHLSTADT
TheDairyman,BarossaValley,SA
Everydayafterschoolthe12-year-oldMichaelWohlstadtwouldfindhis
wayacrosstheroadtohisneighbour’sdairyfarmintheBarossaValley,
wherehe’dhelpwiththeirherdofgentleJerseycowsuntilthesunset.
“Theybecamelikemysecondfamily,”hesays.
Hisactualfamily,whomigratedfromGermanyafterWorldWarII,
hopedthisyouthfulinterestin farmingwouldstopthere.“Mygrandfather
usedtotearoutarticlesabouthowhardagriculturewas,andthings
aboutfinancebeinga goodcareerpath,”hesayswitha laugh.Their
effortswereinvain.“I boughtthisfarmwhenI was 23 andI’vebeen
herefornearly 40 years.”
TheJerseycowswerethefirstthinghebroughtonboard,anhomage
totheherdfromhischildhoodthathelovedsomuch(“Choosinga cow
is a bitlikechoosinga footballteam,”hesays.“It’swhatI knewandI stuck
withit.”).Creamis pasteurisedonMondays,andWednesdaysarespent
churningbutter,whichis soldatthefarmgate,localmarkets,specialist
storesandlocalrestaurants.Thentherearethefree-rangeheritage
pigs– Berkshires,HampshiresandTamworths– whicharefedonmilk
fromthecowsmixedwithgraingrownontheproperty,andsoldas
freshmeat,mostlytorestaurants,orassausagesandcoldcuts.
Wohlstadtis entirelyhands-on.Helovesthesightsandsmellsof
thefarmyardeverybitasmuch as he did when he was 12. “It’s a very
enjoyable way to live.”●MONIQUEMILLTON& TIMWEBBER
ManonWine,AdelaideHills,SA
Whileforagingforsaffronmilkcapandgreyghost
mushroomsinSouthAustralia’sAdelaideHills,
vegetablegrowersTimWebberandMoniqueMillton
cameacrossvineyardsthatweren’tbeingcultivated.
Theynegotiatedwithfarmersforthegrapes
and,in 2015,produceda collectionofManonWild
Naturewines,madepredominantlywithfruitfrom
abandonedvineyards.
ThewinescaughttheattentionofNoma
sommelierMadsKleppeandwentstraightonthe
NomaAustralialist.“Thatreallychangedthings
forus,”saysMillton.
Webberis a formerSean’sPanaromachefand
washalfoftheteamthatopenedSydneywinebar
Love,TillyDevine.Hehaslongbeenanadvocate
fornaturalwine;so,too,hispartnerMillton– her
parentsplantedNewZealand’sfirstbiodynamic
wineestate,MilltonVineyards,inthe’80s.“It’s
a veryuniquethingtodo,tomakewinefromthe
grapesthatyougrow,”shesays.“Itwastheonly
waywewantedtodoit long-term.”
In2016,thecouplebought 10 hectareshigh
onForestRange,theridgeaboveBasketRange,
anddubbedit ManonFarm.Theytend 13 parcels
withmorethan 10 grapevarieties.Theseproduce
everythingfromsingle-parcelwinestoCosmic,
a blendofallthevarietiesonthefarm.
Machineryandchemicals,youwon'tfind.Just
organicgrapes,prunedandpickedbyhand,and
lefttofermentinthetractorshed.Homemade
treatmentsmadefromfermentedseaweedand
herbs,meanwhile,helptoconditionthesoil,
a mineral-richmixofredclay,quartzandschist.
“We’remakinglivingwines,”saysWebber.“So
wechoosetofarmwithlife.”
ThreewineswerereleasedinMayfromthe
2018 harvest,includinga livelyForestRedof
halfpinot-gris,halfpinot-noirjuice.“Wenever
putanyexpectationsonourwines,”saysMillton.
“Experiment,experimentandexperimentagain,”
addsWebber,“untilyoudevelop your own
PHOTOGRAPHY ELEMENTS MARGARET RIVER (CAMBRAY CHEESE), TYRONE ORMSBY (MANON WINE) & MAX VEENHUYZEN (THE DAIRYMAN).dialogue with nature.”
GOURMET TRAVELLER 63