Little Patch of Dirt Becomes Family's
Passion!
WORDS Michelle Meehan
It’s been three decades since Darren, and Tracey Scott started coming to the Hunter Valley to indulge in their passion for wine tasting, and 20 years since they decided to create their own.
But after buying a picturesque 40-acre Pokolbin property in 2000, they have worked tirelessly to create one of the Hunter’s premium boutique wine, food and accommodation destinations – RidgeView. Establishing a wine label from scratch is not exactly an easy enterprise, especially when you’re squeezing it in between working your day job as a dentist (Darren) and raising a family of four young children. Not surprisingly, it’s been a long road for the Scotts, both in the daunting number of kilometres they have travelled over the years from their family home in Sydney to their burgeoning enterprise in the Hunter, and the massive transformations that have been wrought on their “little patch of dirt”. “We haven’t moved to the Hunter, but rather made the Hunter our second home (for now),” Darren said. “My wife and I have always had a passion for wine and frequently travelled to the Valley during the late 80's and 90's.
yhv 20 | FEB-MAR 2020
“When we established our brood of four, we decided in 2000 to buy a patch of dirt. “The biggest challenge in the early years was time... everything takes much longer than you expect, especially when it is a part-time gig trying to build and establish a vineyard.” The “building” process began soon after the Scotts took ownership of ‘Ironbark Estate’ as it was known at the time, renaming it ‘RidgeView’ in honour of the property’s spectacular views and its location on one of the highest points in Sweetwater Ridge Estate. With the support of a group of close friends, the Scotts embarked on the daunting task of transforming the 40-hectare timber property into a vineyard with 22 acres of selected vines, four self-contained cottages as well as a cellar door and restaurant. The process of preparing the soil, planting, training and pruning vines during that first year showed the Scotts just how much hard work was going to be required to turn their dream into a reality. But the toughness of the task failed to dampen their enthusiasm for the end goal, and by 2001 they had established a 22-acre (nine-hectare) vineyard and built the first two of what would eventually be four tranquil self-contained cottages. In the years that followed, they continued to develop and expand their operations on the site, with further infrastructure established before the sparkling in-ground swimming pool was put in for use by guests in 2004. The destinations’ recreational credentials continued to expand the following year, with guests gaining the option to relax with a spot of
