Black & Ginger Wines: Celebrating 10 Years of Winemaking
What a night! Our 10th birthday bash, Cheers to 10 Years!, as part of the Central Highlands Growers and Producers Hub 2025 Forage and Feast Festival, was an absolute ripper. It was incredible to celebrate a decade of winemaking with our mates, family, and supporters who have been part of our journey from day one.
A Huge Thanks to Our Community
Lucy kicked off the night with some well-deserved thank-yous. First, a massive shout-out to the team at Commerce Ballarat for giving us the opportunity to be part of this fantastic festival. A huge thank you to Fushy (Lindsay Fush), our chef extraordinaire — the food was absolutely outstanding! And to Barney’s, our venue for the night, a massive thanks to Col & Susie, Damo & Tash for sticking with the plan and making it happen.
The night wouldn’t have looked half as good without Kate from Wirreanda Farm and Curtis, who styled Barney’s beautifully. And to the legends at Paper Scissors Rock for keeping a keg of our Shiraz Sour beer aside for this special occasion — if you didn’t try it, you seriously missed out!
A special thanks to Jon Yencken from Greenacres Biodynamics for generously donating three lambs for our event and the meat and wine raffle, which raised funds for the Great Western CFA, where Hadyn volunteers. Thanks also to Toiya and Annie for pouring wines all night — you were absolute stars!
To Danny Fraser, the creative genius behind our new cellar door sign and guest book — what a legend. And to our brilliant local producers — Blue Wren Bakery, Meg & Blakey from Bellellen Grampians Organics, Green Eggs, as well as our talented musicians Dave Nicholson & Dirty Country — your support means everything to us. A big shout-out to Marcus Thomson, our fantastic photographer, for capturing the magic of the night!
Looking to the Future: The Black & Ginger Wine Shed
As Lucy announced, the next big step for us is opening the Black & Ginger Wine Shed right here at Barney’s. We’re beyond excited to finally have a space to welcome you all for tastings, events, and more good times!
Hadyn’s Reflections: 10 Years of Black & Ginger
Hadyn took the mic to reflect on what an incredible ride it’s been. We started this journey with just a single tonne of Shiraz from Robert & Cameron John at Malakoff Vineyard, made while Hadyn was a cellarhand at Best’s. That first wine went on to win the Consumers Choice Award at a local show — a cracking start! Since then, we’ve produced 14 different wines from 18 varieties across 10 vineyards in 6 wine regions.
As Jeni Port from Halliday Wine Companion wrote of our 2020 Cinco (95pts): “Australian wine producers take note, this style is the future in a changing climate.”
The Two Most Important People in This Journey
To Lucy — Hadyn’s amazing wife, who not only pulled off this unforgettable night but has been a huge part of B&G since day one. She even insisted on making a Rosé, which has become one of our biggest stars (and rightly has her name on it!).
And to Darcy — his mate and business partner. From that first idea to what Black & Ginger is today, thanks for taking the punt and managing the business side of things.
Here’s to Another 10 Years!
Thank you to every single person who has supported us, raised a glass with us, and helped shape the journey of Black & Ginger. Here’s to another decade of great wine, good mates, and even better stories. Cheers!
