Winemakers Dinner

Yes, it is our annual Winemaker’s Dinner and we are delighted to have secured CEO & owner; Tom Hill, from Juniper Estate Winery.

The Juniper ‘Estate’ vineyard (formerly Wright’s) was planted in 1973 and, together with Vasse Felix, Cape Mentelle, Cullen, Moss Wood and Woodlands, is one of the founding vineyards of the region.

Juniper was established in 1998 by the late Roger Hill and his wife, Gillian Anderson, with the intention of producing wines which rank among the best to come from Margaret River and beyond.

In 2017 Gillian and Roger’s sons, Nick and Tom, took over the running of the business with the same ambition to make great wines from ther own vineyards. After mentoring Tom for five years, Nick moved on and Tom has assumed the role of CEO.

Tom Hill studied winemaking at the University of Adelaide before working in France across two harvests in 2008 and 2009. He moved to Melbourne in early 2010 to further his winemaking career, basing himself in the Yarra Valley for the next seven and a half years. Lured home to the family business on the promise of “not a lot of work” and a “heap of money” (or was it the other way around?) by his brother at the end of 2017, he hopes to realise his family’s vision to make wine that ranks among the best in Margaret River.

• Juniper Cornerstone Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 named in the Top 100 wines of 2023
• One of 10 Margaret River wineries to be placed in Halliday’s Wine Companion Top 100 Wineries 2023 as selected by Campbell Mattinson.

They picked their first grapes of the season in mid January - Chardonnay - from their vineyard on Tom Cullity Drive. This is the first time they have ever picked grapes in January, so it has been a very early start to vintage.