Obsession & Passion

STORY BY MICHAEL HARDEN, PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

Winemaking was never part of Peter Bothe’s plan. He grew up on a dairy farm before joining the police force and serving for 35 years in Melbourne and Ballarat, but he never lost the desire to return to his agricultural roots and do “some form of farming”. The interest was primarily the farming and so Peter’s path into the world of grapes and wine was pragmatic rather than romantic. But, as it turned out, he had quite a knack for it.

Peter and his wife Jill bought the eight-hectare property west of Ballarat that’s now Nintingbool Vineyard in 1982. They built a family home and lived there while Peter pursued his career in the police force. But he was always thinking about farming.

“We had the 20 acres of land and I was always trying to think of some sort of farming that I could do that would be more than a hobby,” says Peter. “A friend of mine suggested planting grapevines. He was thinking just a few rows of vines but when I decide to do something, I like to take it a bit further and I thought: this could be my opportunity to do a bit of decent farming on our small block of land.”

Peter and Jill planted over two hectares of pinot noir vines in 1998 and were able to harvest their first crop in 2001. The excellent quality grapes were all sold to local winemakers, including Norm Latta from renowned winery Eastern Peake. Happy with the success he was having growing grapes, Peter still had no thought of making wine himself until 2004 when an exceptionally large crop changed all that. 

When Norm Latta saw that Peter had a surplus of grapes, he convinced him to have a go at making his own wine with the grapes he couldn’t sell. And so the policeman/farmer became a policeman/farmer/winemaker.

Peter did a short wine course in Ararat to learn the basics but he also had a supportive mentor in Latta.

“Norm was like my tutor,” says Peter. “He was willing to help out wherever he could and he was always encouraging and happy to share his knowledge. I’d take samples over and he’d give me feedback.”

The feedback was obviously helpful because in 2005 Nintingbool Vineyard’s pinot noir was judged by wine guru James Halliday to be one of the top 20 pinot noirs in Australia. Everything changed with that. Demand increased, restaurants in Ballarat, Daylesford and Melbourne began to stock his wine with interest from retail outlets as well.

Peter began to produce more pinot noir and expanded his range to include a sparkling wine and a rosé (mostly from estate-grown grapes), a chardonnay and shiraz from grapes they sourced locally. And he realised he loved the process of growing grapes and tending the vineyard.

“When I was working for the police, I always found it such a stress relief to get out in the vineyard after work,” he says. “It was like being away with the fairies – you could forget about work and just be totally engrossed in what you were doing. I actually love pruning – every vine is different and I find it mentally stimulating and very relaxing at the same time.”

Peter retired from the force in 2011 but is still working hard at farming, especially now Jill works four days a week as an occupational therapist. 

They open Nintingbool’s cellar door about five times a year and recently completed a renovation on their house that includes a tasting room and a veranda that looks over the beautiful property and will allow them to host small weddings.

“We had no idea this would become such an obsession and a passion,” says Peter. “But it’s held us captive from the moment we planted our first vine.”

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