Amber Ochota pays tribute to her late husband, Adelaide Hills winemaker Taras, of Ochota Barrels fame
Amber Ochota has spoken for the first time since the death of her winemaker husband, Taras.
Food & Wine
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Amber Ochota, of Adelaide Hills wine label Ochota Barrels, has paid tribute to her late husband, Taras, following the winemaker’s death in October.
In a lengthy post on Ochota Barrels’ Instagram profile, the mother-of-two described Taras as “the most fun, crazy, passionate person I ever worked with”, and declared she would continue Ochota Barrels “for a while yet”.
“Before Ochota Barrels, Taras and I worked together both here and overseas,” she wrote.
“Firstly in Australia setting up vineyards all over the Hills, selling wine in cellar doors, while making our own backyard wine. Taras went on to manage the vineyards, study oenology and then work as a winemaker, while I studied education and worked with disadvantaged youth and then early childhood teaching.
“A few years later, Taras was offered a job as a flying winemaker in Sweden and when we got there I was also employed, co-ordinating packaging and assisting in the lab. In the summers we would fly to work in southern Italy at the cantina. Taras as a winemaker and me as a cellar hand and doing the laboratory analysis. It was all just beyond incredible.
“When we came home to have babies and start Ochota Barrels, we moved to Basket Range and again worked together on every aspect of our new business, while establishing our house and gardens, snuggling the intensely loved babies and later starting Lost in a Forest.
“Taras’s passion for wine was infectious and inspiring. I learnt so much from him and he was by far the most fun, crazy, passionate person I ever worked with. To get to live, work and play with my best friend who was also my husband, with our children and families involved in it all, was the biggest privilege and I’m forever grateful.
“Taras was full of confidence that I could continue Ochota Barrels. He felt that with the help of his amazing dad Yari, our dear (fellow winemaker) Louis Schofield and Taras’s first mentor Peter Leske, with the support of our family, the incredible community we live in and his faith in me on my side, I too believe I can do it, babes on hip and all.
“I can’t pretend that continuing without him isn’t daunting and the saddest, hardest thing ever, but Ochota Barrels will continue to be for a while yet. Still three generations, still long lunches, same winery, same vineyards, for sure less laughter and way, way more tears but I am determined.
“Wish us luck and here’s to vintage 2021.”
Taras Ochota was revered in winemaking circles worldwide, praised for his down-to-earth nature as well as his skill. He passed away after a long battle with an auto-immune condition on October 12, leaving behind his wife Amber, son Sage and daughter Anouk.
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