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In 1866 Henry Best built a winery in the Victorian town of Great Western. Some years later in 1920 the Thomson family took over. Now, the Thomson family have owned and run Bests Winery for 5 successive generations. Not only do they have a long history with Bests Winery and also what is now the geographical indication of Great Western, but they also have claim to some of the oldest vines in the world, vines from a bygone day when James Busby brought out what came to be known as the Busby Collection in the 1840s. I recently sat down with 5th generation Ben Thomson and his wonderful wife Nicole. Ben, born and bred in Great Western, always wanted to work with the land. Not only is Ben the viticulturist at Bests but he runs his own harvesting company which operates across some of Australia’s most renowned wine regions. Nicole too was brought up on a farm. She one day bought a vineyard and met a handsome Ben Thomson when he was visiting to acquire some of her grapes. Together Ben and Nicole pour their hearts and souls into Bests winery. Five generations of such passion for wine. That must be the key ingredient to one of Australia’s Best kept secrets. A massive thanks to Ben and Nicole for joining me. 

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