Walking around his recently acquired vineyard at Broke in the Hunter Valley, Pedestrian.tv founder Oscar Martin says his lifestyle has undergone a massive change in just a few short months.
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"I have been at Krinklewood for three and half months and during that time I have had to learn so much about the property, growing grapes basically managing everything," he laughs while patting his Maremma puppy Polar, who is fast becoming the star of the new venture.
Oscar readily admits he is a novice when it comes to farming although his family had a property near Wollombi just down the road from Broke.
He was also more, lets say a beer drinker, and now he has to market a range of estate grown wines.
But he is extremely enthusiastic and committed to a major rebrand of the Krinklewood Vineyard, which is best known for its biodynamic and organic farming methods.
Established 40 years ago by master builder Rod Windrim and his late wife Suzanne, the pair, along with their family were pioneers in those farming methods especially in vineyards.
Oscar bought the 59 hectare property after a 12 months search to find a planet friendly piece of land where he wanted to create a sustainable living showcase for the world.
Running Pedestrian.tv, a pop culture news website for 15 years, before selling it to Nine News, he was moving onto new business interests in construction and digital platforms for architecture and building design.
It was while renovating his Bondi Beach home that he and his architect Peter Stutchbury came up with the idea of designing and building sustainable, affordable and environmentally friendly prefabricated homes.
The pair have founded Dimensions X (dimX) where people can build a home using modules that suit there site and lifestyle.
Krinklewood was the place he chose to build the first of these prefab homes - 17 cabins which will provide on-farm accommodation and so much more.
"People visiting Krinklewood can enjoy staying in the cabins which will tick all the environment boxes and be energy efficient," he said.
"We want to design houses that are good for the planet and show people that it can be done in an affordable manner.
"We plan to create a living and breathing example of being in harmony with the environment and this property with its biodynamic farming methods is the ideal place to do that work."
Apart from the cabins he has a DA before Singleton Council for a cafe at vineyard and is working with Peter on a masterplan for the entire property.
"We want to build a venue for performance events like opera and ballet as well as host weddings," Oscar said.
"Hosting artists in residence - it is all very exciting."
He added the years of groundbreaking work by the Windrim family and their staff makes his plans possible.
The resurgence in visitor numbers to the Hunter vineyards, due in part to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Oscar describes as providing a big opportunity for the Broke-Fordwich region.
"It is the quieter part of the Hunter but it is so beautiful and offers so much as you can drive from Sydney through Wollombi," he said.
Louise Nichols
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
