In a life before wine, Ricca Terra Farms’ Ashley Ratcliff was a horseman (representing Australia in 1991). Growing up on a farm in the Adelaide Hills, he moved to a small town outside Fort Worth, Texas, USA, where his job was breaking in wild horses.
Working with an animal that has no prior connection with a human, gaining its trust, teaching it to allow a person to climb all over it, and then building a friendship between horse and man is an amazing and rewarding experience.
There are close parallels between breaking in a horse and growing & making alternative grape varieties. Vision, knowledge, trust and patience are required if success is expected, whether that be wine or horse. Get it wrong and you are sure to be bucked off! – Ricca Terra
