Eunonyhareenyha Winery celebrates gold medal at annual Eltham Wine Show

Except it was not. Now 22 years on, Jan and Howard Pollard run Eunonyhareenyha Winery out on Oura Road and they show no signs of slowing down.

"We started by just growing fruit and selling it," Mrs Pollard said.

"But, then, of course, things changed over the years, and the industry went a bit sour.

"Then I had the opportunity to do some short courses in winemaking at Charles Sturt University."

After completing the studies, Mrs Pollard said she started dabbling in making wine.

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"People were very kind and very eager to help, and that's how it grew," she said.

"We are still very small. We only make a tonne of fruit per label, per season and sell it through the cellar door.

"We are a bit different. I think there are very few wine bars set up in a little tin shed with a toolbar at one end and machinery stuck in the corner."

Eunonyhareenyha Winery was recently awarded a gold medal for its Vintage 2020 Tempranillo Raven Rose in the 51st annual Eltham Wine Show.

They took their step into the world of rose, after encouragement from a former winemaker at Charles Sturt.

"We thought 'oh well, we'll give it a bash' and enter, but we were thrilled to get the gold," Mrs Pollard added.

One of her favourite parts about running a cellar door, Mrs Pollard said, is getting to meet different people every day.

"If we didn't meet them through the winery, then we would never have come across them," she said.

"So many of them are interested in the way we do things, so it's a pleasure to be able to teach them on the whole process."

Mrs Pollard said 2020 had been a tough year after their cabernet sauvignon was tainted by smoke but has high hopes that 2021 will be better.