Bex started out in New Zealand before working vintages across Germany and Oregon, finally landing in Orange in 2018. Aaron left behind a decade-long career in hairdressing to follow his fascination with fermentation, eventually studying viticulture. The pair met behind a cellar door counter and quickly teamed up to bring an old vineyard in the Boree Lane subregion of Orange back to life.

The revival of an abandoned vineyard is where it all began for Grape Pirates, which has since become one of the most exciting wine projects coming out of Orange. Rebecca (Bex) and Aaron work exclusively with high-altitude fruit and keep things simple in the winery: wild ferments, no fining or filtering, and minimal sulphites.