Timo Mayer
Bring Back The Funk
Gamechanger, rulebreaker, trailblazer, larger than life character… You can volunteer whatever praise you like for Timo Mayer, the man, but when it comes to his wines, you better believe they can’t be typecast.
Born and raised in Germany’s traditional Wüttemberg wine region, and following 400 years of family winemaking, Timo landed in Wagga Wagga in the 90’s to study winemaking, soon thereafter finding his feet in the Yarra Valley wine region.
For someone hoping to bring back the funk, the Yarra at the time might have been a curious choice. Yet working under some of the decade’s more inquisitive wine minds, including De Bortoli Wines’ Steve Webber, it was while getting his hands dirty at minimal intervention champ Gembrook Hill that Timo decided to launch Mayer, purchasing the Bloody Hill vineyard in 1999.
It didn’t take long before his creative, funk-driven mentality had the scene off kilter - in the best way possible. The Yarra caught the Mayer bug, and the rest of our island home followed.
It didn’t take long before his creative, funk-driven mentality had the scene off kilter - in the best way possible. The Yarra caught the Mayer bug, and the rest of our island home followed.
Timo veers far from the orthodox path of conceptualizing, making and labelling wine; he quite literally doesn’t “do” back labels (or barcodes), so have a little read of our descriptions of each wine on here before you order from his stellar range. When it arrives, kick back and relax. Don’t look for explanations. Just lean in and enjoy what’s about to unfold in your glass - because we have no doubt that it will.
All hail the Yarra King of Funk!
All hail the Yarra King of Funk!
“...Whole bunch pinot wasn’t particularly popular in Yarra Valley, until Timo made it popular.”
'No back labels, no barcodes'
There’s one thing to know about Timo Mayer’s winemaking; he has no interest in square pegs, nor round holes. On his small Yarra Valley farm, the only thing he’s pushing is progressive wines - less for the sake of progress itself, and more so in the name of rolling with Mother
Nature’s punches - for better or for worse.
Lucky for Timo, his vineyard has dealt him a flurry of more playful little love slaps, keeping him on his toes while allowing him to lean into the natural nuance of his steep Yarra site, lovingly named Bloody Hill.
Nature’s punches - for better or for worse.
Lucky for Timo, his vineyard has dealt him a flurry of more playful little love slaps, keeping him on his toes while allowing him to lean into the natural nuance of his steep Yarra site, lovingly named Bloody Hill.
Lucky for us, Timo’s hands-off approach means incredibly funky drinking. All wines are unfined and unfiltered, with a strong emphasis on single vineyard goodness. Timo’s winemaking is unpredictable; one minute he’s treating Cabernet to whole bunch fermentation, shocking us with an unexpectedly bright whack of fruit. The next, he’s playing with a little new oak, or on the Gamay train - but just when you’re sure he’s about to veer left, towards a little carbonic, he veers right, releasing an insanely refined, elegant little treat.
We very selfishly hope that Timo continues to sit back and play voyeur to the free entertainment that his vineyard provides, year in, year out, keeping us supplied with exciting, expressive wine.
We very selfishly hope that Timo continues to sit back and play voyeur to the free entertainment that his vineyard provides, year in, year out, keeping us supplied with exciting, expressive wine.