Our history

 

A history of great wine making

The story of Clarendon Hills is one of passion, dedication and commitment to exceptional wine.

From wine taster to wine maker

It all began in the 1980s, when a biochemist and wine taster named Roman Bratasiuk decided to produce his own wine. Though he’d never trained as a winemaker, Roman let himself be guided by his refined palette and scientific knowledge. Following his favourite producers and preferred styles, Roman sought to make a version of the wines he loved.

The first vintage

In 1989, Roman knocked on the door of a local grower whose fruit he favoured. A warm friendship grew from a handshake – as did the first Clarendon Hills vineyard, which is still around today. On a warm Saturday in February 1990, Roman arrived at the vineyard armed with a bucket and secateurs, and began to harvest the gapes himself, by hand. After two gruelling days, he had collected what he needed.  Roman repeated the process in Pinot, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards – collecting enough grapes to produce five single site wines.

Roman also took on the crushing process himself – using empty bottles to squash the fruit in a bucket, before transferring the fruit to three small tanks he bought from a nearby dairy for just $100.  After a quick, non-temperature controlled, wild-yeast fermentation, the wines were pressed in a borrowed basket press and matured in 5 separate, third-hand barrels. The vintage was complete in 11 days.

Determination and success

Much to Roman’s delight, the wines from his first vintage were superb and sold quickly. This enabled Roman to buy more buckets, barrels and a shed to house his wines.  He repeated the process the following year, and the year after.

Clarendon Hills soon gained a fine reputation - as did Roman, for his hard work and commitment – all of which was done after hours of his 9-to-5, and on the weekends.  A local newspaper even ran a story: Tin shed wines take on the world.

Exceptional wine

Over the years, Clarendon Hills grew – and Roman gradually acquired more equipment to make the process less intensive. He also increased his vineyard repertoire.  In 1994, Roman left his position at the Australian Government laboratories and devoted himself entirely to Clarendon Hills. Soon after, he also acquired his first employee, and rebranded his $30 Clarendon Hills Shiraz as 1994 Clarendon Hills Astralis. It was the first bottle in Australia to be priced at $100, and it sold out.  

A commitment to authenticity

Roman continued to press for many years – always making and selling the wines himself. He travelled all over the world promoting the fruits of his labour, and continues to do so to this day.  

Today, all of Clarendon Hills’ wines continue to be made by hand. Though Roman has added more single sites over the years, he has always maintained the central role in processing, assessing and re-adjusting each vintage.