There’s been a changing of the guard at Shadowfax Wines.
Chief Shadowfax winemaker Matt Harrop has bottled his last wine release and is handing the reins to vineyard manager and winemaker Alister Timms, who has been his right-hand man for the past 16 years.
Mr Harrop, who has been at Shadowfax for the past 20 years, is leaving to take charge of Curly Flat vineyard in the Macedon Ranges.
Mr Timms grew up on his family’s vineyards on the Bellarine Peninsula.
He has been planting vines since the age of 10 and completed a degree in oenology – the study of wine and winemaking – at the University of Adelaide.
During his time at Shadowfax, Mr Timms has travelled to Italy and worked two vintages in Tuscany at Tenuta Di Valgiano.
He described Shadowfax as “a fun place to work”.
Mr Timms said he was particularly looking forward to producing new wines from Shadowfax’s new Little Hampton vineyard in the Macedon Ranges, which is expected to deliver chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot gris.
Shadowfax re-opened its doors earlier this month, four months after its restaurant kitchen was gutted by fire.
The new-look restaurant features a redesigned and open kitchen so guests can see the chefs in action and a more muted colour palette of warm browns, beige and chocolate panels throughout.
The re-opening coincided with the release of 2016 and 2017 wines, including riesling, rose and sauvignon blanc.
