STORY BY MICHAEL HARDEN, PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

Tim Sproal has a lot going on. A family man with two young children, Tim owns and runs Boomtown Wine, a winery and cellar door in Castlemaine’s The Mill complex. There he makes wine under two labels: Boomtown, a range of simple blended house wines and Minim, fresh, minimal intervention wines made from Italian grape varieties from fiano to nebbiolo. 

He’s also a contract winemaker for several grape growers across central Victoria and assists the young winemakers who lease space and equipment at Boomtown to make their own wine. Tim has also begun growing some of his own grapes. With the winery space at The Mill also operating as a bar and a venue for the occasional wedding and with an upcoming renovation soon to add a commercial kitchen to the mix, there’s the distinct impression of a man with a mission.

Perhaps it’s about making up for lost time. While he’s now completely captivated with the way wine can express a sense of place, Tim is relatively new to winemaking.

“Food was my first love,” he says. “I grew up in a family that had restaurants and my dad had [spice and condiment purveyor] Peter Watson in Melbourne. Food and where it came from was super important. I worked in food for a while, managing the Castlemaine Farmers’ Market and cooking at the Good Table in Castlemaine and was getting into wine a bit but I wasn’t drinking anything that spoke to me about season and place."

But then, “wine came and grabbed me”.

He started working part-time at Bress winery and began experimenting with winemaking in his spare time. Increasingly fascinated by the process, he decided to take it up a step.

“I’d been making wine as a hobby for about four years when I began looking for  a place to take it more seriously,” says Tim. “An opportunity presented itself at The Mill and I got together with a couple of mates who were in a similar situation to me. We realised sharing a space together was the only way we would be able to make it work. We could share equipment, ideas and labour in a space that was all about learning and sharing.”

Boomtown worked well as a co-op for a couple of years but when his business partners decided to go their own way, Tim became sole owner. He stuck with the co-operative idea though, continuing to provide a space for fledgling winemakers who lacked the access to equipment and know-how, like he once had.

“I’m a self-taught winemaker but have worked with and been helped by really talented people all the way,” he says. “It’s shaped my philosophy about learning: anybody who comes into the winery – no matter how experienced they are – has something to teach me.”

Now his winemaking goal is to express the sub-regions of Central Victoria in his wines.

“All the vineyards I work with are very different in terms of soil and aspect and even climate,” he says. “I like to work with the grapes that express those sub-regions best and I think those are the Italian varieties with their expressions of power and complexity, with a balance of flavour and aroma.”

Tim also likes Boomtown’s bar and cellar door being situated in the middle of the winery.

“I want it to be an immersive experience,” he says. “I love the process of winemaking from the vineyard to the bottle and that’s the conversation I want people who come into Boomtown to be a part of.” 

Boomtown Wine Co.                                                                                    

0417 237 155                                                                               

wine@boomtownwine.com.au                                                                                                                                              

The Mill - 9 Walker Street, Castlemaine                                                               

www.boomtownwine.com.au