Little slice of paradise: Locals dive into wine journey

Margaret River take note – there are a couple of new kids on the winemaking block and they’re here to have fun.

Rhys and Kate Fleay have a habit of jumping into life’s adventures feet first, and their decision to purchase and revitalise Forest Grove’s Green Valley Vineyard was no different.

“We had originally planned to build a forever home elsewhere, but after a few rum cocktails one night we spotted Green Valley Vineyard for sale online and pondered if we could make it happen,” Kate said.

“We are both all about fun times and creating epic memories, so when the opportunity came up to buy our little slice of paradise, we jumped through all the hoops to make it a reality.”

The Fleays soon acquired the vineyard, and relaunched with a new brand – The Valley Margaret River.

The couple arrived in the region in 2018, and Rhys quickly unearthed a deep passion for brewing beer.

That hobby turned into a business venture, partnering with mates to revive a long lost Wheatbelt-based beer under the Eclipse Brewing brand.

Kate said his foray into the world of brewing was “so cliche”.

“But he doesn’t surf and kept falling off his MTB so needed a safer way to pass the time.

“Thankfully it turns out he is pretty good at it, so when he entered his first beer into the Brewhouse Backyard Brewing Competition and won a bronze, his little hobby became more of an addiction.

“Rhys loves small batch, experimental, fun brews, usually stuff that pushes boundaries as much like everything he does it’s go big or go home vibes.”

His enthusiasm was contagious, with Kate inspired to throw her own hat in the ring at this year’s Backyard Brewing Tournament and coming home with a silver medal for her ‘A Cheeky Weekend in Bali’.

“I wanted to get in and have a go myself, learn a bit about the process and have some fun with it,” she said. “It was really nice to have his advice along the way, and to be involved in his passion at the same time. It was loads of fun!”

The focus was firmly back on the future of the vineyard this month, with the team’s first bottling day north of Cowaramup under the watchful eye of winemaker and friend, Andrew Dawson.

“Andrew is an awesome local guy who just really loves making small batch wines,” Kate said of the invaluable experience and help offered by Dawson, who is generating solid buzz via his own label, Yeah Wines.

As the first rosé made its way into the bottles – personally labelled and numbered by Rhys and Kate and featuring a locally-designed label bearing their one and only ‘furry meatball sidekick’, Benny the Dachshund, the pair were thrilled with the result.

A long time marriage celebrant and lover of small, intimate weddings, Kate said there was also a plan to create a space for people to relax, celebrate and enjoy the fruits of their labour.

A few hoops remain to be navigated as final approvals await from local authorities, but they are confident it will be full steam ahead with brewery operations soon.

“Since we moved into the property in April 2022, we have fully renovated the house to make it liveable, built the new shed space, eloped some lovers, grown some incredible fruit, and made it through our first vintage,” she said.

“[Now we have] produced our first wines that we have nurtured from vine to bottle ourselves with the help of some amazing friends, and finally we are getting ready to have our first events onsite.

“The underlying factor is to have fun and provide a laid-back place for people to enjoy a wine, beer, graze south of town. We want to provide an inclusive, open-minded, relaxed space for people to meet up with friends and have a good time while enjoying our epic beers and wine.”

Find out more at www.thevalleymr.com