Weathercraft | Origins Story

Our Story

A couple of ex-Melbournians followed their dream to cultivate and produce New World wines inspired by Old World excellence in what they consider the best wine region in Australia for chardonnay: Beechworth.

How it all began.

Raised between Melbourne and East Gippsland, Raquel’s early years were shaped by a close connection to growing things. Much of her childhood was spent alongside her father in their orchard and market garden, tending fruit and vegetables, caring for worm farms and compost piles, and heading out at night with a torch to keep slugs from the lettuce. Those small rituals sparked a lasting fascination with horticulture, soil biology and the quiet work of nurturing life from the ground up.

Although that interest was always there, Raquel followed her parents’ advice and pursued a career in the legal field, where she spent more than a decade. Yet the things that held her attention most deeply - wine, cooking, science and growing - never really left.

When Raquel met Hugh in her early thirties, their shared interests — wine, travel, the arts and literature — quickly became the foundations of their life together. They found common ground in the wines of Burgundy, especially Côte de Beaune Chardonnay, and in the restraint, character and craftsmanship of old-world wine. Travel had already taken them through many of the world’s wine regions, deepening their appreciation for Chardonnay and strengthening Raquel’s particular affinity for Spain, especially Tempranillo and Albariño.

After many years running businesses in Melbourne, Raquel and Hugh sold them and took time out in Europe. It was during an intensive wine tour through Burgundy, standing in the vineyards of Corton-Charlemagne, that their long-held interest began to take the shape of something more definite. They returned to Australia with a clear intention: to find a place where they could grow and craft new-world wines with old-world sensibility, grounded in nature, patience and care.

A Place

Why Beechworth?

Finding the right vineyard took time. Raquel and Hugh were looking for a place in Victoria with a serious reputation for Chardonnay, strong regional character, a smaller community of producers, and a practical connection to family and Melbourne. They explored regions including Macedon, Red Hill and Beechworth, but Beechworth was the place that stayed with them.

The connection was not only viticultural. Hugh’s three-time great-grandfather, Rev. Joseph Waterhouse, served as a Wesleyan minister in Beechworth around 1870 before being appointed to the Echuca district. Raquel also had early ties to the broader northeast. Her parents came to Australia through Bonegilla, the migrant camp near Albury, before settling in Melbourne. Fluent in Italian, Spanish and German, they formed friendships with other migrant families, many of whom settled in the region. Childhood visits to those families gave Raquel an early sense of familiarity with the northeast and its landscape.

Their search eventually led them ten minutes out of Beechworth, along the Everton Upper stretch of road that is now home to some of the region’s most highly regarded estates, including Giaconda, Savaterre and Castagna. There they found what was then known as the Wahlquist Vineyard: a 40-acre farm with a 10-acre vineyard and clear, unrealised potential.

After a thorough due diligence period, the property became theirs in 2016.

Before Raquel and Hugh took ownership, fruit from the vineyard had been sold to respected wineries for use in quality Beechworth wines. In 2018, they launched Weathercraft and released their first wines: a 2017 Beechworth Shiraz, shaped by their love of the elegance and savoury restraint of the Rhône, and a 2018 Beechworth Rosé, made from 100% Shiraz and inspired by Bandol.

The name Weathercraft emerged from this journey. It reflected everything that had brought them to that point: the land, the season, the vineyard, and the careful human work required to guide fruit from vine to wine.

A Name

Weather / Craft

We agree with the old adage that wine is made in the vineyard. Nature provides the foundation - the vine, the fruit, the season - but the journey from bud to bottle asks for gentle guidance. For us, craft is not about imposing ourselves on nature, but nurturing the transformation of fruit into wine in a way that respects the gift of each vintage.

The forces of weather define the character of each season. No two years are the same, and it is the offering of each element - water to sustain, heat to ripen, air to support growth, and earth to provide stability and nourishment - that allows the vine to thrive.

In the vineyard, craft is the skilled attention given to these natural offerings, guiding the vine’s growth in harmony with nature. In the winery, craft is the art of carrying that fruit forward, transforming it into wine that captures the essence of place, season and care.

We chose the name Weathercraft because it embodied all of this: the meeting of weather and workmanship, nature and nurture, season and skill.

People / Raquel

Raquel Jones

Co-Founder, Winemaker

Raquel Jones is the co-founder, winemaker and viticulturist at Weathercraft, overseeing all stages from budburst to bottle.

Her work is grounded in biological farming, traditional hands-on winemaking and a belief that Beechworth has a greater story to tell - not only through chardonnay, but through Iberian varieties such as albariño and tempranillo.

Raquel’s approach to wine is shaped by both formal training and lived experience.

She studied horticulture, viticulture and wine science through Charles Sturt University, bringing technical knowledge together with a lifelong interest in plants, soil biology and the sensory science of wine.

Before founding Weathercraft, Raquel spent more than a decade in Melbourne’s legal industry. It was work that demanded precision, judgement and close attention to detail. Those qualities now carry through to every decision she makes in the vineyard and winery.

As both viticulturist and winemaker, Raquel works across the full life of the wine. From soil health, canopy management and picking decisions through to fermentation, élevage and bottling.

This gives Weathercraft a rare level of continuity.

The person growing the fruit is also the person making the wine.

Raquel’s story with wine began long before Weathercraft.

Raised between Melbourne and East Gippsland, her weekends and school holidays were spent helping her father in the family market garden. Food was part of daily life. It was planted by hand, watched through the season, picked at its peak, cooked with care and shared around a table.

Her father’s interest in biodynamic farming shaped the way she saw the land. He taught her that healthy soil matters, and that what happens below the surface affects everything above it.

For Raquel, soil, season and flavour were always connected. It was an early education in horticulture, but also in care, timing and attention.

That thinking continues at Weathercraft today.

Raquel sees the vineyard as a living system, not a production line. Her work is grounded in biological farming, vine balance, soil health and long-term resilience.

Because good wine does not begin with technique alone.

It begins with the way the land is farmed.

Beechworth is rightly known for Chardonnay, and Raquel is committed to making wines that add to that reputation. Her chardonnay brings a finer, more feminine edge to the region’s benchmark style: textural, structured and restrained, with power carried through line, detail and elegance.

But she also believes Beechworth has a wider story to tell.

Inspired by her Spanish heritage, Raquel is a strong advocate for Iberian varieties in the region, particularly albariño and tempranillo. At Weathercraft, these are not side projects. They are part of a considered belief that the right variety and clone, grown on the right site, can expand what Beechworth is known for.

That belief was not always shared. When Raquel planted albariño in Beechworth, the decision was met with some scepticism. She backed the site, the variety and her own judgement.

Today, Weathercraft remains the first and only vineyard in Beechworth to grow Albariño. It was also the first vineyard in the region to plant Tempranillo clones from Ribera del Duero and make wine from them.

In 2025, her Weathercraft Albariño was awarded Top Gold receiving the Trophy for Best Iberian White Wine Variety at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. For Raquel, the award was more than recognition. It was a reminder that conviction, when grounded in knowledge of site, can open new ground.

Raquel’s work in wine has always sat close to her love of language, food and the table.

Fluent in three languages, she brings a wider cultural perspective to her work, from Iberian varieties in the vineyard to writing, food and the table.

In 2025, Raquel entered the Jancis Robinson Wine Writing Competition with A Vestige to Tempranillo. The piece won the competition and was later longlisted in the 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards.

Through The Winery Kitchen, Raquel brings wine, food and seasonal produce into the same frame. It is a natural extension of the thinking behind Weathercraft: that wine belongs at the table, shaped by place, produce and the people who grow, cook and share it.

People / Hugh

Hugh Jones

Co-Founder

Hugh Jones brings more than three decades of business, property and advisory experience to Weathercraft.

As co-founder of Garcia & Jones and founder of Agency Outcomes, he brings calm strategy, trusted relationships and long-range thinking to the business behind the wine.

Co-founding Weathercraft brings together his love of wine, the outdoors, travel and building something with care.

At Weathercraft, Hugh supports the business behind the wine: the relationships, planning and clear commercial thinking that help the brand grow with care.

That discipline comes from more than 30 years at the upper end of the property industry, advising high-net-worth clients on private residences, prestige developments and significant commercial assets.

His reputation has been built quietly, through trust, discretion and results. He is known for reading complex situations clearly, bringing the right people together and guiding decisions with calm judgement.

Weathercraft brings together farming, wine, place and responsibility. Behind that is the structure every strong wine business needs: clear decisions, trusted relationships and the discipline to grow without losing its shape.

Hugh’s role sits in that structure. Distribution relationships, commercial planning, operational decisions and a steady focus on responsible practice.

His approach is simple. Build carefully. Protect quality. Support the long game.

Away from business, Hugh is drawn to the outdoors and to pursuits that demand focus.

He enjoys time with his daughter, travel, boating, fishing and club motorsport. He also takes part in annual charity race days, combining his love of competition with a strong sense of community.

That same mix of energy, discipline and perspective sits naturally alongside Weathercraft: a business built with ambition, patience and care.

VISITING BEECHWORTH?

Experience Weathercraft

The cellar door is where Weathercraft makes most sense. Sit overlooking the vines with a glass in hand, and let Raquel walk you through the vineyard, the season and the wine in front of you. It is an intimate, unhurried tasting shaped by the person who grew the fruit, made the wine and lived the season — the moment where each bottle begins to make sense in the place it was grown.

Book a Tasting

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