Haldon Estate Wines

Tracey Richards and her partner Ranald (Ran) Currie still have day jobs to pay the bills, but have already had remarkable success with the wines they have made and marketed. Tracey has had a long love affair with wine, and studied oenology at CSU from 2000-05, graduating dux of her class. With an introduction from Rick Kinzbrunner's nephew, Peter Graham, she started working vintages at Giaconda from '03, and continued to do so each vintage until '12. They have planted 2.2ha of estate vines, which include chardonnay, riesling, semillon, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, nebbiolo and cabernet sauvignon. The house on the 3.8ha property is no ordinary abode, having been built in 1893. Tracey says they live in the house full-time ‘and freeze most winters'. The vineyard established by the partners is in fact its third incarnation, the first dating back to the 1850s. Haldon has a little cellar door in a farm outbuilding built circa 1900-30, now (after it was gutted) restored. -JAMES HALLIDAY