Mike Hayes
ALTERNATIVE VISIONARY
Mike Hayes helped put Queensland wine on the map. Now he’s planted the ‘vineyard of the future’, experimenting with new varieties that thrive in a changing climate.
Mike is a wine trailblazer in more ways than one. He’s helped raise the profile of the Granite Belt wine region, championed sustainable viticulture in a changing climate, and explored an exciting array of alternative varieties. It all started when he was a teenager, helping his dad in the vineyard. And continues thanks to his passion for wine and unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
Cultivating the vines of the future
Born and bred in the high-altitude Granite Belt wine region, Mike grew up in the family vineyard. His mother carried him in a bassinet through the vines as she picked grapes, and he started working as soon as he was old enough. Over the years his career took flight.
Mike worked in 16 wine regions across Australia and New Zealand. He did research on vineyard management in a changing climate, and in 2012, after winning a fellowship, he toured 50 wine regions in Europe and researched 650 grape varieties. Mike has also won gold medals for more than 20 different wine varieties, and was named 2017 Winemaker of the Year by the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology.
So it was big news when he left Granite Belt’s Symphony Hill winery after a decade to join Sirromet Wines in 2018. Sirromet was founded by Terry Morris, after a conversation with friends who dismissed the idea of great wine coming from Queensland. Today it’s one of the state’s best wineries.
Mike Hayes helped put Queensland wine on the map. Now he’s planted the ‘vineyard of the future’, experimenting with new varieties that thrive in a changing climate.
“In the Granite Belt we’re very, very proud,” says Mike. “We are individualistic. We are not governed by styles or varieties like other regions.”
Since joining the team, Mike has started reinvigorating the vineyards and launched a new wine range featuring Vermentino, Fiano, Lagrein, Saperavi and Montepulciano. He uses organic practices in the vineyard, which he’s aiming to ‘future-proof’ with new varieties that can withstand drought. In the winery, he’s all about minimal intervention.
“In Australia, there’s a bit of a movement where people are going back to the ancient style of grape growing and winemaking – and I think it’s about time,” says Mike.
“Wine is ever-evolving and that’s the beauty of it … I hope I never make the greatest vintage because if I think that’s the best wine I’ve ever made, what else is there?”
“In the Granite Belt wine region, we’re very proud. We are individualistic. We are not governed by styles or varieties like other regions.” – Mike Hayes
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