Roman has always had a passion for wine, from being a serious wine collector to a wine rep in addition to his full time job as an engineer. He started dabbling in his first wines in his garage in the early 90s from purchased grapes from nearby Victorian regions. In 1994 he planted his first small block of vines (shiraz and chardonnay) on his private residential property in Beaconsfield Upper. In 2002 Roman’s deep interest and passion for wine was evident when he and his wife, Margaret, decided to take the plunge and purchased a large block of land in Toolleen in the Heathcote region which had 1/2 an acre of existing old vines. From this point he knew he wanted to get serious about wine and began to delve deeper into wine books and magazines daily. He would spend his weekends visiting wineries in Victoria and chatting to winemakers. In 2003 he finished a short course in Winemaking at Swinburne TAFE and completed his very first vintage with Sergio Carlei at Carlei Vineyards in Gippsland. In the following years, he began to plant a further 15 acres of vines on his property in Toolleen, adopting a dry grown philosophy to put the focus on quality over quantity.

 

In 2004 Roman made his first serious small batch wine from his own block of vines in Beaconsfield Upper as well as the existing old vine grapes from his new property in Toolleen. It wasn’t until 2011 that the name Noble Red was born and Roman’s vision was beginning to come into fruition, releasing his first labelled, commercial wine, the 2011 Noble Red Shiraz. A surreal and proud moment, the wine was awarded 94 points from James Halliday in the Wine Companion. And since then, each vintage has produced award winning wines, with positive reviews from key wine critics around the country.

 

Roman has continued to expand his knowledge by soaking up as much wine and wine knowledge. He has ventured around the country visiting key wine regions as well as travelling the globe and knocking on the doors of many reputable wineries in regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Tuscany, Piedmont, Priorat and Rioja. His passion and drive to keep learning is evident in the wines he makes today. As well as trying new techniques, he continues to ensure that the quality is at its best with every wine he makes each vintage.