A playful experiment between husband and wife has evolved into an award-winning boutique winery. Jess Dwyer tells The Riv about the progression of The Farmer and the Scientist.
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Husband and wife duo, Brian and Jess Dwyer, had spent a number of years working at wineries before making the decision to create their own barrel of homemade wine.
Jess had always worked in vineyards while studying science as a mature-age student at university whereas Brian came from a farming background and eventually ended up migrating from farming into viticulture.
Jess who was working as a teacher at the time started experimenting with making her own wines.
“Because I'd worked in wineries, I was pretty much self-taught in winemaking.”
Jess and Brian thought of it as more of a passionate side hobby rather than something that could turn into a full-time position.
“The first year that we made one or two barrels of wine, we were just playing around, thinking it may turn out okay or it may not, but it actually ended up turning out really well.”
“We thought that maybe we could be on to something great.”
“It was in 2013 when we made a red wine in a slow, traditional method. A product that wasn’t really on the market at that time.”
The wine was incredibly popular amongst friends and family.
Jess said, “that's when we were like, okay, it’s time to put a nice shirt on and go see if anyone actually wants to buy this product.”
Much to the Dwyers’ amazement, they did.
In 2013, the Dwyers took over a 20-acre vineyard with the intention of selling their wines.
Jess explained that even though she had experience working in wineries, she still felt quite nervous about going out on their own and launching a business.
The Star Hotel in Echuca was the first establishment to sell their wines.
“We were so excited that we had our first real customer, and the growth just didn’t stop. Our products became more and more popular.
“We've been there ever since. We are still by the glass there, today.”
During their second year of operation, they won best in show for one of their wines.
“We were absolutely shocked, but this is when we really knew that we were heading down the right path.”
As their customer base started to grow exponentially, Jess could no longer juggle all of the responsibilities of working as a teacher, being a mum and running their business.
She left teaching and started working with The Farmer and the Scientist full-time to market the business and make the wine while Brian manages the vineyard.
The Farmer and the Scientist now sells a variety of wines including white, rose and shiraz.
Despite the Dwyer family constantly saying they will not be releasing any more varieties of wine, Jess said they had struggled to keep their word.
“We never stick to the rule of no more products because we just love being creative and experimenting.”
Last year, the family launched a white Fiano and Jess is now currently working on a vintage sparkling wine which is made from grenache grapes.
In terms of what she loves about the work, Jess said it all came down to the fact that she is able to bring joy into people’s lives through these products.
“The best thing is knowing that your products have entered someone's life. Whether they’re being placed on the dinner table or being gifted to someone, it's just amazing to think that our wine is putting a smile on someone's face.”
“It’s also just the fact that you're growing something and creating something that might make someone’s day.”
Jess said that although the lifestyle of working outside and being surrounded by nature was peaceful, it could also be quite challenging.
“When it's hard, it's heartbreaking.
“We don’t have a cellar door. The majority of our sales are through pubs and restaurants. COVID was and has been devastating for us and that’s something that we're still battling through.”
Jess and Brian both had to take on part-time work as sheep farmers to try and earn some income.
“Our business had been in hibernation throughout the pandemic. We took up sheep farming to try and make up that lost income,” said Jess.
Jess explained that Cottam’s Family Butchers in Rochester agreed to sell their wines.
She admitted that it was such a relief to know that they could rely on Cottam’s and their support throughout the pandemic.
“They have been incredibly supportive in taking us on as being our surrogate outlet because we don't have a cellar door,” said Jess.
She explained that the Rochester community had supported their business from day one and this had motivated her to give back to the Rochester community by educating them on the region.
“The main thing for me is to educate people. A lot of people don't realise that this world-renowned wine region of Heathcote is a bigger part of Rochester's culture than they might realise.
“The Heathcote wine region is literally a stone’s throw away from Rochester. Rochester is the gateway to the northern end of the Heathcote wine region, and I want to pass that information on to local people.
“The great thing about this region is that we have such amazing fruit here due to our climate and our soil and I want people to know how special our region is.”
Jess will be a special guest at a Rochester Probus meeting that is coming up in May where she will discuss the region, the story of her business and how it has evolved over the years.
As for the Dwyer family, Jess said that her children, Charlie and Hadleigh, had really enjoyed playing an active role during picking season.
Both kids bring their child safety scissors to help Mum and Dad with the picking.
You can purchase The Farmer and the Scientist products at https://www.farmerandthescientist.com/shop/ or at Cottam’s Family Butchers in Rochester.