Simon Fennell
FORGING FRESH IDEAS
Variety is the spice of Simon Fennell’s life – whether it’s his career that’s taken him from viticulture to craft beer to winemaking, his diverse wine styles or the unexpected playlist blaring from the winery.
Having grown up in the Coonawarra wine region, winemaking was a natural career choice for Simon. With a horticulture degree under his best, he started out in viticulture in Coonawarra and Wrattonbully. He then took a detour and became a craft beer brewer for four years, before returning to wine. Now he’s the winemaker at Montara Wines in the Grampians wine region, where his creativity and appetite for innovation are alive and well.
Balancing history and innovation
Crossing the border from his home state of South Australia to Victoria in 2012, Simon took on his first winemaking role – assistant winemaker at the iconic Best’s Wines in the Grampians wine region. Several years later he joined Montara as winemaker. He enjoys beer brewing but for now, wine has won out.
“You can pretty much make beer on any day of the year, but with wine, it’s a bit more cutthroat – you get one shot at it,” says Simon. “You’re at the whim of the elements and the season, so the pressure’s on.”
Music is Simon’s other passion, and he’s played piano and drums in local bands. Visit the Montara winery and you’ll hear a diverse soundtrack, reflecting the diversity of Simon’s wines.
“The playlist out there in the winery is varied – anything from sombre and classical through to hard-edge rock-and-roll for staying awake late at night, getting that final press load of grapes out,” he says. “It’s a bit like the winemaking experience – it’s varied and diverse.”
Established in 1970, Montara is an important winery in the Grampians and its cellar door has one of the region’s best views. An array of varieties thrives in the vineyards, including Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Shiraz.
“Diversity I think is really important for creativity and expression,” says Simon. “To be able to work with those varieties in still form and also in sparkling wines is a challenge, but it keeps things interesting.”
Keeping things fresh and interesting while honouring Montara’s past is at the core of Simon’s winemaking approach.
“I think it’s great to reflect on our history and the significance of the region, but I think progression is also important,” he says. “Innovation is important and keeping it current is above all what we’re out to achieve.”
“It’s great to reflect on our history but I think progression and innovation are also important.” – Simon Fennell
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