Rojer Rathod and Millie Shorter are partners in both life and wine. They met in the Hunter Valley, where Rathod works as a winemaker for M & J Becker Wines and Shorter works in wine sales and textile design. “We really wanted to make our wine label as a collaborative creative project to work on together,” they say. “We both have our creative passions and wanted to create something where we both get to express ourselves and build our future family business. We really couldn’t have started our label without each other and our combined skill sets.” Neither Rathod nor Shorter has formal winemaking training, although both have learned on the job by working in wineries, and Rathod has commenced formal studies this year.
Their backgrounds and skillsets have narrowed the focus of Majama Wines. Both Rathod and Shorter share a love of Sicilian wines made from the island’s traditional grape varieties – one they credit to their experience working with sommelier Pat Hester at Yellow Billy Restaurant. Rathod comes from Gujarat, India, and his background informs not only the label’s name – majāmā being the Gujarati for ‘happy’ or ‘fun’ – but also the fermentation vessels the pair work with, the traditional clay kothi used in India as water vessels. Shorter’s background as a graphic designer with a focus on textiles gives the wine labels and bottles – made, unusually, out of clay – a cohesive visual identity. A shared interest in minimal-intervention winemaking practises seals the deal.
“We make our wines with a minimal-intervention approach, using hand picked fruit and wild fermentation without fining or filtering,” Rathod and Shorter say. “We aim to express the single-vineyard fruit in its purest form, while preserving as much aroma and flavour as possible.” No additives are used, with the exception of a touch of sulphur: “We only add sulphur at the time of bottling – around 30 parts per million. We also age our wines in clay amphorae, and we use clay bottles which convey the story of the ancient winemaking techniques [we use] and also encourage the consumers to reuse the bottles for other purposes.” Their use of kothi as fermentation and ageing vessels – currently employed for two of their three wines – differentiates them from the rest of the natural wine scene in Australia, but they’re quick to credit their peers as inspiration. “We’re lucky to work with other young winemakers who share a similar philosophy of winemaking,” they add, “like James Becker [of M & J Becker] and Peta Kotz [of Sabi Wabi]. The new generation of winemakers in the Hunter Valley are introducing new varieties and blending different winemaking techniques.”
“One of the best things we did was reach out to Sicilian wine makers and ask about their techniques. Our wine is all the better for getting their advice, even if the language barrier had its challenges.”
Finding fruit to suit Majama’s Sicilian focus is a challenge. “Because we work with Sicilian varieties, we have had to source our fruit from multiple regions,” Rathod and Shorter say. “We get our zibbibo from the Hunter Valley. It is on the rarer side to find, and late ripening. We’ve had a few brushes with storms and bad weather conditions but have still found the fruit is great quality. We transport our nero d’avola and inzolia from the Murray Darling region which adds some logistical challenges. The Mediterranean climate down there is more suited to those varieties.” While the pair’s first release, the 2023 vintage, comprised a Tumbarumba pinot noir and a carbonic ‘nouveau’ syrah from Hunter fruit, Sicilian varieties are now the focus, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. “We can’t wait to get our hands on more Sicilian varieties,” they add. “They are currently very rarely grown here and hard to get. In particular, we want to work with carricante and nerello mascalese.”
Beyond the logistics issues that are usual for small winemaking operations sourcing fruit from multiple regions, Rathod and Shorter’s chosen focus poses its own unique difficulties. “Getting our amphorae made in India and shipped has probably been our biggest challenge,” they say. “Learning to get out of nature’s way and let the wild yeast ferment and flourish is probably the hardest thing to master. One of the best things we did was reach out to Sicilian wine makers and ask about their techniques. Our wine is all the better for getting their advice, even if the language barrier had its challenges.”
Rathod and Shorter’s ambitions with Majama are relatively modest. “It’s about creating a lifestyle for ourselves that we love, and having the freedom to create something that reflects us,” they say. “We want to grow our own grapes eventually and live on the land. We are really interested in minimal intervention in all aspects of grape growing and wine making – doing the least harm to the environment and ultimately allowing the fruit to shine is what we want. Combined with ancient winemaking techniques like using clay amphoras, we are looking to create our own niche.” Judging by the reception their second vintage has received, they’re already well on their way to claiming a unique position in the Australian wine landscape.
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