Second generation keeps Nicol's Paddock growing

Set between the outskirts of Geelong and the Surf Coast lies Nicol’s Paddock, a family-run winery and restaurant.

The first vines were planted on the Waurn Ponds property in 1997 by Peter and Viv Nicol and the business was known as the Saint Regis Winery.

In 2015 the pair’s son Jack Nicol and his wife Katherine Anderson took over the daily operations of the winery and became the second generation of owners.

Three years later, in 2018, the business had a rebrand and name change to Nicol’s Paddock, with the new name representing their family.

As part of the takeover, the pair also introduced the restaurant, adding to the appeal of the Geelong property.

“We opened up the restaurant – Jack’s dad actually built most of it, which is fabulous – we opened that up and we do a modern Australian shared style dining, which is lovely,” Anderson said.

The menu at Nicol’s Paddock is designed to be shared and uses locally sourced ingredients where possible.

Featuring local produce where possible, the menu changes every two months, ensuring what’s on offer remains fresh.

The menu features a range of sharing items from pickled vegetables and chicken meatballs through to cured meats and cheeses, with the added option of letting the team choose.

On top of opening the restaurant, the couple also expanded their wine list. Originally, the business was making Shiraz out of the on-site fruit and purchasing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.

“We have expanded to a rose as well, we did that in 2020, which was very fun to do and that’s been super popular,” Anderson said.

Because Chardonnay is such a popular variety, it was hard for the team to source the fruit, and they realised the vineyard they were getting the Pinot Noir from also had Biognier available and made the switch to produce their first Viognier wine in 2023.

Over almost 10 years, Nicol’s Paddock has had a loyal customer base.

“The Viognier has I think been even more of a hit than the chardonnay has. Chardonnay is a bit polarising for some people; some people love it, some people do not,” Anderson said.

“Whereas with Viognier, I think, people are less familiar with the variety and have less preconceived notions, so they’re more likely to try it.

“The Viognier is such a fun variety because you can make it in some quite different ways, ours is some beautiful nashi pear characteristics and a little bit creamy, it’s beautiful.”

For those dining in the restaurant, Nicol’s Paddock also stocks wines from other local vineyards, ensuring there is something on offer for everyone.

When it comes to choosing which wines the business produced, Anderson said it depended on what fruit varieties are available and what will grow in the area.

“We’re pretty lucky in Geelong, we’ve got a range of wines we can grow here that are beautiful and we’re also not too far from a lot of other wonderful wine regions.

“We focus on just getting fruit from the Geelong area so we try to get varieties that we know grow really well here.”

The winery produces Viognier and Pinot Noir as well as estate-grown Shiraz and Rose.

Anderson believes the winery and restaurant’s location made it a drawcard: just a 20-minute drive from the Geelong CBD and less then 10 minutes from Grovedale and Waurn Ponds.

The size of Nicol’s Paddock is also something to be desired.

“All the other wineries in the area are fabulous, but they’re also huge, so with us, you’re getting a slightly more intimate experience, which is really nice,” Anderson said.

“We are focusing on just keeping that vibe, not getting too spread out and also keeping a really nice, shared sort of modern food and changing the menu every two months.

Nicol’s Paddock are focused on keeping the winery an intimate space and not becoming too spread out.

Anderson said she enjoyed everything that came with running the business – especially the people, both the staff and customers.

“We’ve had customers coming in for the last 10 years, since we opened which is fabulous.

“And I love seeing customers that have gotten married and now we’re seeing their little kids, their kids aren’t so little anymore some of them, but it’s really cool.”

Next year will mark 10 years since the second generation took over and Anderson said there had been several highlights in that time.

“I loved when we released our rose, turning shiraz into rose was really fun and a bit scary, the first time doing it, but that’s been really beautiful.

The vineyard provides visitors with an intimate and relaxed environment to spend their afternoons in.

Anderson comes from a farming background and said keeping the property into a second generation was wonderful.

Her dad is still on hand, doing a lot of the wine making and helping out with pruning and the vineyard maintenance.

“There’s way more intricacies to just a little couple of acres than you would think,” Anderson said.

“Which is quite interesting and because he’s [Peter] been dealing with it for like 20 years, he knows all these different bits, so when I’m going through, he can tell me that, which is really cool.”

Nicol’s Paddock is at 35 Waurn Ponds Drive, Waurn Ponds and is open Thursday through to Sunday.

For more information, head to nicolspaddock.com.au or follow their Facebook page.