Scott Gledhill (1989)

Scott Gledhill (1989) is growing grapes on a text-book-perfect site in Murrumbateman and creating 100% local wines. Scott believes his years at Daramalan College gave him a wide range of skills that help him now. 

What are you doing now? Please tell us about your winemaking business?   

I’m growing grapes and making wine right here in Murrumbateman with my family. It’s such a fabulous spot for grape growing. I was born in Newcastle, grew up in Canberra, and after living overseas for ten years, we came back home to settle in Murrumbateman. The winery name is Wimbaliri, which in the local language means “to drink”. 

The vineyard is on a text-book site for grape growing, elevated at 630 metres, and is north-east facing. The original vineyard was planted from 1988 onward. We doubled it in size with more plantings in 2016 and 2017. The grapes grown are shiraz, pinot noir, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and smaller amounts of viognier and merlot. We sell to restaurants, bottle shops and customers directly online, and the cellar door is open by appointment.   

I always wanted to be a farmer, and I spent some time gaining a range of skills to grow grapes and make wine. There’s a lot to it, and it is very satisfying going right from planting new vines and growing the grapes to making and selling the wine. It’s a very practical application of many skills, but you also get to be inspired by your creations, and that’s something I’m really proud of and fortunate to be able to do so in such a great place.    

Many of the wines are named after specific aspects of the Wimbaliri vineyard – the site which is on a latitude of 35 degrees south (’35th Parallel Chardonnay’) and the vineyard plantings (‘Close-Planted Pinot Noir’, ‘The Gravel Block Shiraz’).  

Our website is www.wimbaliri.com.au and you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter @wimbaliriwines.    

How did Daramalan College influence your life? Did you have favourite teachers?   

There were a lot of teachers that made an impression on me, and I look back on that now more so than at the time as it’s one of those things you don’t give a lot of thought to as a child.  

Daramalan taught me on the creative side, my Art Teacher (Margaret Pfitzner) gave me a strong appreciation of Art that I didn’t realise until much later in life. I loved Industrial Arts (Bruce Shepherd) and Engineering (Peter Dawson). And there’s the business side of things with John Coonan. I am using many of these skills today that I started learning at Daramalan. These formative years helped me take on a wide range of things later in life that I may not have otherwise done.    

I now have two children at Daramalan.  When I come back to Daramalan, I’m so impressed with the School, the new facilities and the effort that’s gone into that, and how much it offers students and the supportive environment it is fostering.