But the dream of owning a Barossa vineyard didn’t eventuate until 2007 when a friend, who knew of Trevor’s aspirations, phoned to say he thought he had found the perfect property at Pub Road in the Eden Valley wine district.
Trevor was quick to act, he had a Barossa contact in winemaker, Shawn Kalleske and rang to see if he had heard of the site. While Shawn hadn’t, his friend, grapegrower Joel Mattschoss, had worked in the area and had given it “a big thumbs up”.
“Trevor came down to have a look at it on the day of the auction. He fell in love with the location and bought the property after just one look because Shawn said Joel said it was perfect!” laughs Marilyn.
Back then, the 66-acre property had two acres of Riesling and six of Shiraz. It now has 20 acres under vines including Pinot Gris, more Riesling and Shiraz; Cabernet and Pinot Noir.
When the neighbouring property went on the market in 2010 with its one acre of Riesling and seven acres of Shiraz, Trevor added more to Brockenchack’s holdings and planted Chardonnay and Grenache along with extra Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Shiraz.
Fourteen wines are now made from fruit grown in the cool climate, single vineyards with nearly every one of them named after family members, including their flagship Shiraz, William Frederick, after Trevor’s father.
“We have 41 acres under vine now. While we’ve grown considerably from the mere 37 dozen of wine in our inaugural vintage back in 2008, we are still a boutique vineyard and place the same importance and love into every bottle of Brockenchack Wines crafted,” Trevor says.
“We’ve ended up buying more land on Mount McKenzie Hill just here and some more from another neighbour in 2020 so now we’ve got 300 acres of land and about 100 head of Black Angus cattle.”
With every property came aged buildings and Marilyn knew her husband could never leave them as is.
“Having broken or somewhat run-down houses doesn’t sit right with his psyche, he just had to fix them up and repair them. Then, what do you do with these houses?
“So from the wine, somehow we’ve now got three B&B’s! I never realised it would come to this but it has and I never thought we would be working so hard, but we are!”
Both now 75 years of age, there is little sign of either of them slowing down as the founding generation of Brockenchack.
“I reckon I’ve got a good 20 years in me yet, I’m going for 103!” laughs Trevor.
And seeing grandchildren taking active roles in the business including eldest, Mackenzie, with his business degree and natural business nous, as well as his cousin, Jack who has an affinity for working on the land, adds further motivation.
“They are both 21, very street smart, exceptional workers and wise beyond their years,” adds Trevor.
“Over the next five years they’ll be trained up to take their place in the business, moving Brockenchack into the next generation.
“Mack is currently based in our office in Buderim, Queensland and with our other assets and businesses we have, he will become our Chief Financial Officer. He’s incredibly savvy and has hit the ground running in the short time he’s been working with us.
“Jack works with us here on the property. He has a natural passion for the operational side of things and certainly isn’t one to shy away from hard work. He manages our cattle herd and the fact that he can’t sit still certainly works to our advantage – it’s in his blood!
“We are very fortunate to have these young guns as a vital part of our business. Building up the next generation and giving them the opportunity to excel is what drives me and is something I’ve strived to implement throughout all my businesses.”