From Württemberg to Wagga Wagga

Timo grew up in the Württemberg region of Germany, where his family have been making wine for more than 400 years. It’s a wine region heavy on tradition and full of small, family-run vineyards. But it held little appeal for Timo. He was restless and headed off to explore the world. His travels brought him to Australia, along with his wife Rhonda who he’d met in the US, and they eventually chose the Yarra Valley as their home. Timo might’ve left the family farm in Germany, but winemaking was still in his blood. 

Timo studied winemaking in Wagga Wagga and looked for a job. In the mid-1990s some of the wines in the Yarra Valley were strong and robust – but they didn’t reflect the cool climate of the Yarra Valley. Timo didn’t drink or want to make those styles of wine.  

Winemakers were just beginning to understand the unique climate and soils of the region, with only a few flying the flag for more elegant, interesting, thought-provoking wines. One of those innovative winemakers was Steve Webber at De Bortoli Wines, who helped revolutionise winemaking in the Yarra Valley and secure De Bortoli’s place as a leading name in Australian wine. Timo worked at De Bortoli under Steve’s guidance, before moving to Gembrook Hill, a small family-run operation producing some of the region’s best wines using minimal intervention, back-to-basics techniques. In 2000, while working at Gembrook, he was ready to make his own mark on the wine world and launched his label, Mayer Wines. 

Starting new traditions

Timo and Rhonda planted a vineyard on a slope, which they named Bloody Hill (it was no easy feat working on such a steep hillside). His wines were Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, cool-climate classics that allowed Timo to showcase his unique style. His winemaking philosophy: ‘bring back the funk’. This was interesting, complex, funky stuff – the antithesis to the previous wave of wines. 

In 2004, Timo made a decision that changed everything. He starting using whole bunch fermentation in his Pinot Noir wines. This is a rustic, old-school technique where the grape stems are left in with the berries to ferment, adding a unique flavour and texture to the wine – and at that time, hardly anyone in Australia was doing it. Never one to do things half-heartedly, Timo went all in and made 100% whole-bunch Pinot Noir. Some were sceptical and others excited by the complexity and freshness of his new style of wine. Timo played a major part in bringing this technique back and today it’s used by winemakers all over the country, helping to shatter the world’s perceptions of Australian wine. 

Timo hasn’t lost his drive for breaking down barriers. He made a name for himself making elegant, innovative Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but in recent years he’s started experimenting with new varieties, including Nebbiolo and Gamay – two red grapes that have an exciting future in the Yarra Valley. And as ever, he’s doing it his own way, pushing the boundaries and bringing the funk. 

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