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The Velo wine taste and chat podcast
velo_the_chat.mp3 ( 20.6 mb, 22:34 minutes )	Michael starts by giving us the background on Velo, we hear about the 'dud' Olympics and the Tour de France, Michael gives us a quick lesson in professional cycling, we learn how Fawlty Towers was really a documentary, we are intrigued to hear about Mary's plans for Vanuatu, we try to interest Michael in the wonderful world of fruit wines. To finish we find out how Michael managed to snare the beautiful Mary.
check_levels.mp3 ( 0.34 mb, 21 seconds )	Michael helps with the technical aspects of the podcast recording.
velo_whites.mp3 ( 8.91 mb, 9:44 minutes )	Michael talks us through the 08 velo riesling and the Dominique sparkling.
velo_chardonnay.mp3 ( 6.88 mb,  7:31 minutes )	It's onto the chardonnay. In particular the 06 velo wooded chardonnay and the 08 velo chardonnay.
velo_reds.mp3 ( 13.2 mb,  14:29 minutes )	Michael takes us through the velo pinot, velo cabernet merlot, velo reserve cabernet and the 07 and 08 velo Shiraz. To finish, for reasons that weren't clear, we bang on about Grange.

Michael Wilson - He knows Paul McShane ..... and he's been in 'The Tour'

For he's a jolly good velo ... (I thought we said we wouldn't do that! - Ed). We have probably confused any French punters out there "for he's a jolly good bicycle?". Velo is French for bicycle you see. Michael chose this as the name for the vineyard because he loves cycling. In fact, according to Paul McShane, Michael is one of the best road cyclists ever to come out of Tasmania. He was part of an Olympic cycling team and also had a successful 'Tour de France' career.

He's looking at winepunters!

Actually, the conversation about the Olympics was pretty short. PJ mentioned that there were good Olympics and bad Olympics. A bad Olympics is one where half the world decides not to attend. Like Moscow.  "That's the one I went to" Michael replied "Bugger off!". Kinda left us with nowhere to go after that really.

Thankfully asking Michael about his time in the Tour de France was less accident prone. Not only did he perform well on the 'Tour' but it left him with a real love of wine. The road from professional cyclists to vigneron was pretty smooth once Michael and his wife Mary had got over their stint as B & B owners. "When you've been in that business you can watch Fawlty Towers and you realise how accurate it is". 

Fearing that he was turning into Basil Fawlty Michael decided that it was time to leave their hospitality phase behind and try something new. After Michael successfully completed a viticulture course and got some experience he and Mary purchased what is now called Velo in 2001. "It just seemed like a good idea" Michael said. Frankly they chose well. Not only did the property contain the oldest vineyard in the Tamar Valley (Michael told us that Graeme Wiltshire owned it prior to moving to Pipers Brook) but it is located on the main tourist route. 

That combination seems to have paid off. "We've been running for four years ... in the first year we barely made a living ... (but) as long as you stick in there eventually it starts to happen for you". In some ways the Velo label shares some of the advantages of Puddleduck. Both are readily recognisable and easy to remember. Similarly both cellar doors are built around the name as the theme. 

Michael and the wines

The Velo cellar door has bicycle inspired and French influenced decor. While we were interviewing Michael a couple of young French ladies came in to buy some wine. Like all French people they believed that, while good, Tasmanian wine couldn't really match the produce of their homeland. Despite our best efforts we couldn't make them realise how wrong they were, still delusional people are like that.

Usually Michael and Mary like to move on to new challenges every 7 years or so but this may be changing. "We've had the vineyard for 8 years but we've only had the cellar door for 4 so we are counting from there" he quipped. But the business is doing well enough so that they are thinking seriously about staying on. "Maybe we will close a bit more and go on holiday".  

At this point we started to move on to more personal issues. We were curious about what turned Michael from being a good ol' beer drinkin' Tasmanian boy to the cosmopolitan person he so obviously is now. He did admit a continuing fondness for beer and confessed to a more than passing acquaintance with fruity lexia. But it was his time in France that really introduced him to the world of wine.

It's a sign!

We say 'really' because his first quality wine was a bottle of Grange he and a mate drank while waiting for their wives to finish work. But he did admit that he wasn't in a position to really appreciate the quality. That story reminded us of our last trip to Sydney where we saw a young bloke on his 'L' plates in a Porsche. Now that's just wrong.

Still Michael has redeemed himself somewhat when later on in life he tried a bottle of 1971 Grange "just unbelievable ... one of those experiences" he said.

The range

Staying with the personal theme we wanted to know how he met his lovely wife Mary. "She was attracted to me because she didn't want to talk to this other bloke". But it wasn't just avoiding someone worse, we're sure that Mary was attracted by Michaels 'olympian' status. "Yeah I had a good story to tell ... she wouldn't have known what I was saying but I would have done it anyway" he laughed.

Whatever the reason they have been together for a long time and things don't look like changing. In fact, Mary is planning an exciting future for them both, part of which might include purchasing a block of land in Vanuatu. Michael, being a wonderful husband, is supportive. Although he worries about how they will make a living. Wanting to help the happy couple we suggested starting a fruit wine business. "No" he said giving us the world famous 'Wilson Glare'. Right, we thought, that's that then.

Mary hard at work

We have to confess that the podcast recording was a little chaotic and lacks the customary introduction and wrap up. Our only excuse is that the Velo cellar door is a very busy place. However, in between phone calls and Michael crying "bloody customers" in his best Basil Fawlty we think we managed to get the gist of Michael's varied and interesting life.

Despite these difficulties it was a worthwhile exercise. Even if Michael had been indescribably boring we still would have gone for the chance to try the Velo wines. Not only did the 08 Chardonnay win a trophy at this year's Tasmanian Wine show but the reserve Cabernet and shiraz are nothing short of fantastic.

So we hope that Michael and Mary don't move to Vanuatu, or if they do that they give us a lifetime supply of Velo before they go.

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