John Harris takes the Helm full-time at Mitchell Harris

It's an exciting day as Johnno joins us full-time today, as we take Mitchell Harris to a new level.

He'll be straight into it too, with a massive list of jobs over the next few months as we grow our once tiny weekend venture into the wine company we hoped for.

Some of Johnno's job list:

Disgorge our 2008 Sabre by Mitchell Harris sparkling. (due Dec. 2011)
Start work on permits, licences etc for our new urban winery in Ballarat.
Start fitting out the new winery HQ.
Keep working through the growing season with our vineyard crew in Moonambel.

So you'll see Johnno out and about more often now, and we can't wait to see the magic he'll create now he's with us full-time...

The Mitchell Harris Winery (-to-be) ...a sneak peek!

The great old facade of our new Mitchell Harris home.

This month we've made some terrific new leaps ahead in the Mitchell Harris adventure. One of the most exciting is the purchase of a new headquarters for Mitchell Harris Wines. Hopefully over the next few months to a year we'll see the advent of a new urban Cellar Door, and a warehouse and cellar for our goods, and potentially even start doing some of our smaller batch winemaking right here in the middle of Ballarat!

The old ledger book circa 1896

We've been lucky enough to find a terrific old shop and warehouse that started life as a stables / livery in the 1890s, and became what was probably one of Ballarat's first motor garages around the time of WW1. It spent the next few decades as a canvas / tent-maker's workshop, and since the mid-70s has been an electrical motor workshop.

Heaps of great old Victorian details (in need of some love...)

Our new home is right in the middle of Ballarat's CBD.

A panorama view of Ballarat from the back balcony.

Tons of character, tons of history and tons of space. Just what we need...

The cluttered but characterful front-of-house, hopefully soon-to-be our Cellar Door.

Johnno's new world in the old bluestone stables / garage / workshop (WINERY!!)

Over the next few months we'll post more pics and let you know as soon as you pop in for a glass or two!

Mitchell Harris Wines at Spring Graze Ballarat

A few pictures from a great night at Lydiard Wine Bar this week. Spring Graze was a satellite event of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and showcased the best of fresh spring produce along with the range of Mitchell Harris wines.

We hand-disgorged a dozen bottles of our new sparkling, Sabre, which was served with fresh plump oysters. The dry, aperitif style was a brilliant match for this seafood canapé.

A Thai salad of spanner crab showed off chef Damien Jones' heritage in Thai cuisine brilliantly, and was matched with our 2011 Sauvignon Blanc Fumé, and our 2011 Rosé.

Through the night we patched in Johnno from his wine-show judging in Canberra, to introduce the sneak preview of Sabre. A great way to bring him in as a part of the evening, but obviously he would have preferred to indulge....

An incredible main of a rare rolled roast of Goldfields Spring Lamb was some of the best lamb I've ever tasted, and a brilliant centrepiece with our reds, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Shiraz.

And a sublime way to finish the night was a dessert of blue cheese, pear and apple, matched with the fruit richness of our Special Release Muscat.

Make sure if you get a chance to drop into Lydiard Wine Bar in Ballarat

Special thanks to Alicia's sister Sally for the gorgeous images...

 www.sallymckay.com.au