At the risk of being labelled an optimist, I want to declare that there has never been a more exciting time to be a winemaker in Australia than right now.

Social media is an absolute sewer. It breeds fear, anxiety and division. To say it brings out the worst in our society is an understatement. 

Nostalgia for the '90s is running high. It's not hard to see why.

In Wine Talk, I'll be interviewing wine industry folk to share insight and new perspectives on wine and Huntington.

One of the perks of being a winemaker is that you get to travel to some of the most beautiful wine regions on Earth. And it's tax free!

Huntington Estate founder, Robert (Bob) Roberts (1934-2026) died peacefully, with his beloved wife Wendy by his side in February of this year.

A proposed lead, zinc and silver mine in the Mudgee region is a risk to our livelihood.

VINTAGE. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

The unrelenting doom and gloom about the wine industry is hard to escape. But despite the stratospheric drop in global wine consumption (back to the level of the 1960s!), and the many significant challenges we face, I firmly believe there are reasons to be positive. 

It's so far, so good for Vintage 2026 (cue much touching of wood, rubbing rabbits feet etc...). 

I was reminiscing with my boys about playing Pong on our tiny black and white television set when I was their age. “Mmmm” they said, uninterested and unimpressed, then went back to killing things, and 'stealing brain rots'?! on their personal devices with their impossibly sharp, colorised, touch screens. 

WHY SUSTAINABILITY?

Sustainability is a whole business approach that covers our environmental, social and economic responsibilities. It's a fitting topic to focus on after 20 years of custodianship at Huntington Estate, as we look to the future and the next 20 years.

I am about to celebrate 20 years as custodian of Huntington Estate. 2005 seems both like yesterday and forever ago, as is the way. More like forever ago when I look at the old photos (those hideous noughties jeans, my long, flowing locks...) and my rapidly growing boys - the eldest of whom is about to turn 14. It's only recently however, that I feel I have fully found my feet - just as well, as I am now the last man standing from the changeover.

Vintage 2025 has certainly been the season of extremes we were promised, although mean rainfall and temperatures suggest a deceptively ‘normal’ pattern.

Farewell Helen Helen Watermelon... Helen has retired after exactly 25 years of impeccable service, ready to take on retirement and the world.