You can smell the whisky burning down Palmer's Lane," says winemaker Ashley Horner with a smile as wide as his newly acquired 25-acre property in Pokolbin, walking down the dirt road driveway that leads to his (old) new winery he bought recently with his wife Lauren.
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"It's a good little street . . . I mean, we're smack bang in the heart of Pokolbin. We're stoked we could get our hands on this place."
THE HORNER STORY
Like some sort of winemaking rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond - call him what you will - Ashley has been making wine under his own label, Horner Wines, at various locations around Pokolbin since 2013.
Grapes have come from his family's vineyard at Denman in the Upper Hunter, as well as from further south in Orange, too.
Now, though, after a lot of hard work and some helpful fiscal stimulus from a significant number of "angels", including the parents and those who form part of the online wine retailer, Naked Wines, Ashley and Lauren have been able to buy 25 acres on Palmer's Lane - a street once home to the great Len Evans himself.
The property includes a working winery, and even a house.
"There were a lot of other winemakers looking at it, but I guess they just couldn't see themselves doing the work to get it going again," says Ashley.
According to Ashley, the place was in "a bit of a state" before they bought it in December 2017. Since then, the couple have been working day and night to get their winery ready for the vintage this year.
"It's definitely been hard work getting it going again, but there's a lot of potential to do good things here," he says.
THE FUTURE
he plan, in the not-too-distant future, is to build a cellar door and eventually re-establish a vineyard on the property.
"I'm really looking forward to getting the cellar door up and running, so we can have our friends and fans of Horner Wines come and see us and say G'day, and taste the wines where we make them," says Lauren, with an eye on the future.
"Back in the '70s, this place had chardonnay and pinot (noir) planted for sparkling wines, but those vines were pulled out about ten years ago because they'd been let go," Ashley says.
"Considering the effects of global warming, maybe we'll think about planting some Italian varieties, like sangiovese, which is different. We'll see."
The Horner's new winery is being put to the test with white grapes, like chardonnay, arriving in the winery a week or so ago, followed closely by red varieties like shiraz coming in hot from Orange in just the last few days.
"The best thing about buying this place is that I now have full control over the wines I make here," Ashley says.
"I don't need to worry about getting in the way of any other winemakers; I can do what I like, how I like, and make my wines exactly the way I want, which means they'll be a better reflection of me and my skills as a winemaker."
Room to move and space to grow. That's the dream of any driven individual or couple - especially with three kids.
"We've achieved so much since we started back in 2013," Lauren says.
"Ash has worked two vintages in France, we've renovated our house, we started this business, and we've had three kids too. It's been full on."
"Yeah, but that's life," Ashley says. "You just get on with it to make things better."
You can smell more than just the whisky burning down on Palmer's Lane, Pokolbin. There's commitment, passion and, of course, the pungent perfume of fermenting grape juice; wine of the future. A future that Ashely and Lauren believe in.
"We've got skin in the game now," Ashley says.
"This place is ours, for the future, for the family, you know, for our kids to grow up and maybe one day take it over . . . who knows?"
