From souvenir retail and manufacturing through Sydney's busiest tourist hotspots to a winery just outside of Delungra, Rae and Ross Thomas marked another stage in their "treechange" when they officially opened Thomas New England Estate Wines surrounded by family, friends and dignitaries on Tuesday.
Originally from the region, Ross brought Rae "home to roost" four years ago to the 1215ha sheep and grain property they bought 28 years ago.
"We started with the cellar door in the old woolshed which was just lovely, but it was on the Bingara bypass road and it didn't do what we expected," Rae said.
"It was suggested we open up on the other side, on the highway, and it was just unfortunate we couldn't take the woolshed over there."
The cellar door is surrounded by several rows of grapes which are affectionately knows as "stealers".
"They have been planted just to give the effect," Rae said.
"They are actually table grapes that we can hand out to people."
The wine-growing vines occupy 40ha elsewhere on the property and were planted by the couple's son Greg, who "studied the process for a while" before moving to the Gold Coast.
There have been three plantings in total, starting in 1996.
It seems producing a refreshing drop was certainly in Ross' blood, with his father well known for making cordials and his grandfather the founder of New England Pale Ale.
"We are fortunate to have some very knowledgeable people around us, including the contractors who do the pruning," Rae said.
Eight different wines are produced from grapes grown in the property's rich black soil – from a chardonnay that Rae says "you'd kill for" to a merlot with a cabernet sauvignon and shiraz added to the stable.
"From that we get everything from our sparklings to our port and we've only just introduced a very popular non-alcoholic wine," Rae said.
Her personal favourite is the chardonnay in summer and the rich merlot when the mercury takes a dive.
"But then there's nothing like a shiraz grown on black soil," she said.
© 2006 Inverell Times
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