The Victorian town of Ballarat has come a long way since the gold rush. With many home-buyers priced out of Melbourne’s property market, they’ve turned to regional towns like Ballarat, creating new regional hubs for gourmet food and wine. Two local families spotted a business opportunity and teamed up to open urban winery, Mitchell Harris Wines.
“Ballarat is very well known for its pub and beer culture and we thought it was time to introduce people to wine,” explains John Harris, Co-owner and Winemaker at Mitchell Harris.
“We’d been making wine for about five years when we spotted this building and thought it was a great opportunity for us to open the bar and sell our wine direct, as a cellar door.”
“We made it a place that we would want to come, so we thought, what is Ballarat missing?” says Co-owner Alicia Linley.
The owners of Mitchell Harris refurbished 19th century building in 2012 Source: SBS
But it’s been a steep learning curve for the two families, who had no experience in running a hospitality business.
“The first night I’ve ever worked in a bar was when we opened this place,” laughs John.
“Knowing how many people are going to walk through the door on any given night is hard to guess, so you’re just managing your costs around a lot of unknowns.”
Mitchell Harris Wines is a labour intensive business, with staff wages accounting for around 40% of all costs. To generate additional income, the business has expanded into wine education.
“We developed our yearlong educational winemaking journey, the Curious Winemaker Program," explains John.
"We follow the path from the grapes out in the vineyard, all the way through to the finished product to the final bottle and hopefully a lovely glass of wine on the table,” explains John.
Mitchell Harris Wines recently received a $10,000 grant from the Victorian Government’s Wine Growth Fund, allowing them to expand the program.
The Wine Growth Fund aims to grow Victoria's wine industry Source: SBS
“Winemaking equipment and stainless steel is pretty expensive stuff so that’s really enabled us to take the plunge and invest into the program," says John.
"It’s all about supporting regional communities and bringing visitors to the regional centres, to visit cellar doors."
Alicia adds with a smile, “we found the community that loves Ballarat and wants to come to a great wine bar."
“It’s definitely been hard work and painful at times, but the rewards are just huge, it’s been great.”
