Listen to our conversation

Left click on the file name to listen, or right click on the file name to download the podcast.

What do you think of this podcast? Send us a comment

The Philippa and Mike Sharman Podcast
sharman_conversation.mp3 ( 20.8 mb  22:45 minutes )	In this conversation, we hear about the first vineyard in Relbia and why it failed, we are impressed by Mike's financial good sense, we hear about Mike's adventures as a vet, we listen as Mike explains how he fought off a bunch of pesky journos to win the hand of the fair Philippa, Mike tells us what it's like being run over by a car.
sharman_taste.mp3 ( 21.7 mb  23:47 minutes )	Mike Sharman takes us through his current range of wines.

Philippa and Mike Sharman - They revived winemaking in Relbia.

Some of you may not have heard of the Relbia wine region. This isn't that surprising. It is a small area on the south east outskirts of Launceston and is overshadowed somewhat by it's much larger sibling the Tamar Valley. However Relbia had one of the first vineyards in Tasmania with grapes being planted at Marchington in the early 1800's. This early attempt at a Tasmanian wine industry floundered due to people's preference at the time for fortified wines and over zealous taxation by the Tasmanian Colonial government (What, a government destroy an industry through stupidity and greed, surely you jest! -Ed).

It took a long time for vineyards to reappear in Relbia. Mike and Philippa started their vineyard (Glenbothy) in the 1980's and it was the first "in modern times to go here". Despite the condition of the block when they first bought it - "it was just a bare paddock ... a lot of the soil had been washed down the hill ... it was covered in thistles, blackberries and gorse" - the block was in an area in which they wanted to live.  "The opportunity to buy a block like this was a bit of a dream come true ... I've always been a frustrated farmer". 

Mike Sharman

It also happened to be a good location for vines. "We started by planting a fruit salad ... a bit of everything". This was to see what they could grow in frosty conditions prevalent in the area. The vineyard has developed since then but Mike has taken a very conservative approach. "I have been very cautious not to borrow money, which is very frustrating, there is potential to do quite a bit here but it takes money".  Seems to us that events around the world have vindicated Mike's attitude and make him a role model for many other Australians.

Aside from the location the success of Sharmans is due in part to Mike's partnership with Philippa. This partnership began when they met in the early 1960's "He was bonded to the Tasmanian Government and I'm Tasmanian so we met" Philippa said. "He was a very nice man .. lovely man ... everyone loves him including me". Mike feels the same about Philippa. "There was a bit of competition out there" he laughs. Apparently he wasn't the only one interested in Philippa. Lurking around was a bunch of journos because Mike shared a flat with a young Tim Bowden (of the ABC's Backchat fame). "We've survived for forty odd years".

Philippa made this!

This partnership was tested when 15 years ago Mike was run over while crossing the road in Launceston. During Mike's convalescence Philippa had to manage the vineyard. "I felt bad about not being in the vineyard but I hate the actual vineyard work ... when he was run over I put in a winter". "I decided that when you've got to go" Mike adds "It's not a bad way because I didn't know anything about it ... one minute I was going across the road and the next thing I wondered if I was going to die".

Fortunately Mike survived and now has a leg full of metal and hopefully a more cautious approach to buying ice creams! So Philippa's role now is to assist with labelling and offer expert commentary on the quality of the wine. "They are great now ... they weren't at the beginning ... we definately didn't see eye to eye about his babies".  Their discussions were good natured and helped them to ensure that they didn't produce any wine that wasn't good enough to go on the market. They both agree that since 2000 they have been making some very good wines.

Mike and Philippa have used a number of winemakers over the years but are now using Jeremy at Josef Chromy. "They're just down the road ... Jeremy is a good winemaker ... he is quite keen to make wine locally to promote the local area and I think that's quite good". 

Mike gettin' busy

We wondered how an area like Relbia relates to the vineyards in the Tamar Valley. Relbia is not as well known as it's bigger brother. "It's a newer region" comments Philippa. It is also a lot smaller. "I tell people there are three little ones (vineyards) and one big one". Mike quips He went on to point out that most visitors to Northern Tasmania tend to go to the Tamar and those that do come to Relbia visit the winery and restaurant at Josef Chromy.  

This leaves the smaller vineyards with a dilemma. Except for Josef Chromy, visitor numbers are small so it's hard to justify opening the cellar door regularly. But closed cellar doors don't encourage visitors. We suggested that the Relbia vineyards consider creating a 'regional' cellar door rather than trying to get visitors to come to the separate vineyards. He promised that he would consider the idea as long as it doesn't cost too much money! (Oh well there goes our massive consulting fee! - Ed).  

Despite these issues Mike is happy to be part of the Tamar Valley Wine Route and is impressed with the way the group is promoting the area and it's wine industry.  But he does raise the issue of increasing the number of visitors to Relbia with the Wine Route group. "We moan all the time" he laughs.

In the mean time they sell fruit to help cover winemaking costs and sell most of their wine on a wholesale basis. This appears to be paying dividends. "I certainly feel our label is getting out more, I think less and less people are saying who are you and where do you come from"

Mike recently turned 70!

Having dealt with the winemaking issues it was on to the personal questions. Both Mike and Philippa are private people who value their family above just about anything else. When asked with whom would they love to have a glass of wine they both immediately replied "family". Considering we said they could choose anyone in the world that tells you their priorities. 

This is obviously reciprocated. We saw a copy of the card created by the family for Mike on his recent 70th birthday and it was full of loving messages. Mike wore a special hat for this birthday featuring a picture of himself and we wondered if this was a tad self indulgent. "Oh no" he protested "I didn't have any choice!". Philippa confirmed this, "he was made to do it!".

So this celebration was obviously their "best wine experience" but, surprisingly for someone who has been run over Mike didn't nominate his accident as his "worst wine experience". "Every cloud has a silver lining it meant I was crook and I'd retired and I started full time in the vineyard!".  So if a serious accident isn't the worst that could happen, what was?

"I would have thought the worst wine experience for you "said Philippa "was chucking out those 1500 bottles at the dump". "That was one of the first wines I made .. I put too much sulphur in it".  Mike couldn't dump all the bottles is one run so it meant several psychologically painful trips to the local haven of waste management. While he was philosophical about it Philippa sprang to his defence by making the point that this 'mistake' was the result of some poor advice. "You were told what to put in it". "Since then I have done the course at the university and I realised I probably could have fixed it" Mike adds.

We continue to be impressed with the people we meet who run vineyards. Mike and Philippa were funny, welcoming and very interesting. They have worked hard over many years to build a quality label and luckily for us they don't show signs of slowing down or stopping.

Home

What do you think? Send us a comment