Not that the small scale grape grower and wine producer dislikes people; he just prefers the hands-on experience of growing his relatively obscure gamay variety grape, yet is more than happy to quaff a drop or two with small groups keen to sample one of his four types of wine.

Mr Morey was nominated by a mystery admirer for the Winemaker of the Year Awards sponsored by prestigious magazine Gourmet Traveller WINE and is now one of four finalists selected from producers across the nation.

His four-hectare Sorrenberg Vineyard on the edge of Beechworth does not have a cellar door, his annual organically grown crush is a modest four tonnes and he has no aspirations to grow into a winemaking giant like Penfolds or Brown Brothers.

"I didn't go into the industry for that side of things, I wanted to farm and I knew I was good at growing horticulture rather than sheep and wheat," Mr Morey said.

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"About 60 per cent of our sales are in wholesale to Melbourne and Sydney restaurants and shops and the rest to private customers through mail lists. I'm a hands-on person, I like to be there and do it and be out there. If you told me I had to open a cellar door to do this job, I'd go and milk cows or something, I always say. It's not because I don't like people it's just that I like to farm.

"Someone nominated me which is a bit strange actually, because we're a very small operation."

Mr Morey employs two full-time and three part-time people at his vineyard which started in 1984.

His first experience in the industry was at Dookie.

"My grandfather worked for his uncle and had a vineyard at Dookie," he said.

"I grew up on an orchard at Shepparton - my father went orcharding but it was my mum's side that had all the grapegrowers and winemakers.

"I thought, well, I like farming but I ended with a job at Brown Brothers, then came over here to Beechworth and was looking for a cooler site to make the styles I wanted to make.

"I looked for quite a few years and something came up. It's a beautiful area, it was a bit different when I moved here, it was a bit rundown - it was quite a different town."

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