30/08/2026
We love this old photo of Viv, Hamish and Ben Thomson. There was always much work to be done in a family business, picking grapes after school, feeding the cows, tending to odd jobs! But there has been loads of fun too - whether it was being towed on skis across wet grass in gumboots, or on a skateboard behind a bike around the winery.
In the lead up to Father’s Day, we asked Hamish Thomson what his dad Viv taught him. Here's what he said:
"The value of hard work, and the privilege of growing up in one place with the freedom to try things and figure out how they worked. The value of the land, and a life on it. The honour, the hardships and the intricacies of being part of a multi-generational business.”
"Not how to ride a bike, that was Ben. But Dad taught me to shoot and fish, ride a horse, and drive a car, tractor, forklift, truck, even sail a boat. To appreciate livestock and every type of crop, and what it takes to get them to market. The maths behind spray mixing ratios, land area, volumes. How to deal with trade customers. How to judge a wine."
"And importantly, how to value a customer, that they're a major part of our success, and it's a relationship. We both succeed, or we don't, together."
