Grandvewe Cheese, Hartshorn Distillery and Ewe Care making the most of sheep milk and whey

While wine making is a major growth industry in Tasmania it seems counter-intuitive to buy a vineyard and rip out the vines.
But doing things differently is what gets cheesemaker Nicole Gilliver out of bed in the morning.
“We never want to be pedestrian – we don’t want to do what everyone else is doing, and the business model of a winery cellar door or cafe is ubiquitous,” she said.
In 2005, Ms Gilliver established Grandvewe Cheese after buying a vineyard near Woodbridge and ripping out the vines to run sheep to milk and make cheese.
Her business Hartshorn Distillery began in 2015 as a solution to a problem they were experiencing with Grandvewe Cheese.
“As the cheese business grew, the waste problem grew,” Ms Gilliver said.
“The biggest waste product in cheese making is whey.
“So, to solve that, we came up with a solution by making a liqueur.”
Pure sheep whey is very nutrient-dense and rich in protein, she said.
“But we come from an eating culture that doesn’t like the idea of whey-based products, unlike in Europe where there are a lot of drinks in the market that are whey-based,” Ms Gilliver said. 
“To sell whey to Aussies, we had to stick some sugar and booze in it.”
Then, in 2019, she expanded the business more and moved into the beauty game with Ewe Care.
“Sheep milk, litre for litre, is the most nutrient-dense milk available to us,” Ms Gilliver said.
“And because of the way it’s structured with proteins and fats, generally it’s the most bioavailable so that we can absorb the nutrient content much easier than other milk.”
Ms Gilliver said they originally ran sheep on the property as a weed-management and fertilisation system when it still had vines.
“It became clear pretty quickly that people were a lot more interested in farmhouse cheese making than a winery cellar door operation.”
According to Ms Gilliver, only two other companies in Australia are using sheep milk and whey.
“If we can be different and cut the cloth a slightly different way, then that’s what rolls us out of bed,” she said.
“It’s not to make cheese, farm sheep or distill a product – it’s about having an interest in something that isn’t commonly done and then challenging ourselves to make it a viable business.”
Ms Gilliver said she was aiming to establish the farm cafe near Woodbridge as an event space and wedding venue in a slightly more rustic setting.
“We’re in a pretty picturesque part of the world, and we have spaces that are underutilised,” she said.
Ms Gilliver said she was also currently focusing her efforts on Ewe Care products.
“The skin care products don’t have the problem of cold-chain logistics,” she said.
“Getting cheese to external markets is extremely expensive, and it’s a nightmare.”
Hartshorn Distillery is linked with a national distributor, and its spirits can be found in bars and restaurants around Australia.
The cheeses are sold almost exclusively in Tasmania, while the skincare products are sold online and shipped nationwide.
“The businesses take inspiration from cow dairying and sheep farming, and are just trying to meld them together to make it work,” Ms Gilliver said.
“We want to challenge ourselves in a very small market to have a business that provides enough revenue for myself and my kids, as well as have some longevity and provide employment regionally.”