Stephanie Helm was always a winemaker-in-waiting ... after all, she made her first wine at age nine.
"It was a chardonnay, and I know it sounds crazy," she said. "But if you grow up on a dairy farm you learn to milk cows. I grew up in a winery."
Her first trophy - for best cabernet at the Murrumbateman Cool Climate Wine Show - came at 13.
"That was exciting because it was my wine, Dad was much less hands-on. I have some left that I open occasionally. It is just starting to tire now, but it has been long-lived."
As the daughter of one of Canberra's most high-profile winemakers in Ken Helm of Helm Wines, it was probably inevitable, despite a brief period when she studied arts law at Charles Sturt University, that she would return to wine.
These days Steph, along with husband Ben Osborne, are the people behind the aptly named The Vintner's Daughter wines, with their cellar door and vines sitting right alongside the highly decorated Clonakilla winery.
Stephanie looks after the wine, and Ben the vineyard.
"We were so lucky to get this property, which has vines dating back to 1978," Stephanie said.
"It had been on the market for a while because the owner wanted to sell to someone who was in the industry. Her husband was deceased and she wanted their work continued because they'd put years of hard work into the place."
It meant some seriously hard yakka, closing the cellar door down for two years while they brought the property back to shape.
"Fortunately we both had outside jobs at the time - and no kids."
After reopening in 2016 they had a run of six good vintages to clearly establish the brand before the tough times set in.
"From 2020 we had smoke taint from bushfires, then hail, frost, and of course COVID."
It triggered a new approach. Along with their own fruit, they now buy in grapes from Tumbarumba and Hilltops to spread their risk.
"It also allows us to give people a more diverse range of cool climate wines," she said.
They have also planted another plot of vines that will double their own estate fruit.
"More of everything. So we'll have gewurztraminer, riesling, pinot noir, extra shiraz, as well as some sangiovese, grenache and mataro."
All this while raising kids Grace, 7, and Clancy, 4.
But wait, there's more.
"Over the past four years we've become Babydoll sheep breeders as well," she said.
"I was always looking for ways to reduce herbicide use, and Ben wanted to reduce labour costs. Babydolls do both and I happened to discover a breeder 30 minutes up the road.
"Now we have a flock of 50. They're smaller than regular sheep and they can't reach the grapes. They take all the suckers off for us which reduces labour, are gentle on the soil so less heavy machinery, and they add fertiliser.
"They lift your spirits too."
Sheep and shiraz? Now there's a winning blend.
WINE REVIEWS
Crisp and fresh
Forrest Sauvignon Blanc, 2023
$30
If you had to encapsulate typical Marlborough (NZ) sauvignon blanc, this may well be it. All those trademark characters are there in their zesty freshness. There's the crunchy, green flavours of grapefruit, the sweet-sour of passionfruit, lemon thyme, a handful of mixed herbs and tangy minerality. A heap of easy drinking crispness.
Semi-sweet treat
The Vintner's Daughter Semi-Sweet Riesling, 2022
$32
This is the first release of this wine with the fruit a blend of Canberra and Hilltops. There's an appealing sweet/sour balancing act going on here ... the lime cordial and sharper citrussy notes a perfect foil for the residual sugar that is deftly handled. Some mid-palate pineapple richness. Light and lively, it's not too sweet ... just enough.
WA pinot shines
Apricus Hill Pinot Noir, 2023
$40
Picturesque Apricus Hill vineyard is the highest in Denmark, on Western Australia's south coast, sitting at 210 metres. It was bought by Harewood Estate in 2013. Savoury red fruit, cherries and plums, some twiggy, earthy characters, and a touch of mushroom and spice. The silky softness that good pinot demands is there in abundance.
