Occam's Razor

Emily McNally (nèe Laughton) lent her name to one of Victoria’s great reds – Jasper Hill Emily’s Paddock – long before she became a winemaker. She grew up among the vines at Jasper Hill and, after a series of jobs and seeing the world, returned in '01 to learn more about winemaking at Jasper Hill from her father, Ron. That was also the year that her mother, Elva, suggested she buy fruit and learn about the wine business from the ground up and, thus, her own label was born. A friend with a science background suggested the name, Occam’s Razor, based on a principle espoused by 14th-century English philosopher William of Ockham, which basically translates as 'the simplest explanation is usually the best'. Emily McNally and her husband, Nick, run Occam’s Razor, sourcing fruit from vineyards in northern Heathcote and near Lake Eppalock. Fittingly, they now live with their family on Emily’s Paddock. -JENI PORT