A phone call received “out of the blue” in 2004 changed the course of Ian Henderson’s life.
Busy working through his 10th year as a winemaker, Mr Henderson answered his mobile and heard the voice of a friend in the United States whom he had met through the wine industry.
Bottled vinegar was desperately being sought for a food import business starting in the US and Mr Henderson was asked if he could provide it.
Some 30 Australian wineries canvassed prior had refused, spooked by the stigma attached to the acidic liquid.
Mr Henderson, however, said: “Sure, this looks like a fun project! Let’s give it a go”.
He bought a bucket, a funnel and plastic hose, as well as a guide to vinegar-making written in German (Google helped translate) and so the project began in his parents-in-law’s tractor shed.
“I literally backed a tractor out of one of the bays, swept the floor, brought in some old wine barrels and used vinegar we had stored as a starter,” Mr Henderson said.
“When you talk about rudimentary starts, my capital investment to start with was about $30.
“During my wine science degree, I got an ‘A’ in the subject of ‘how to stop vinegar happening’ so I presumed all I had to do was the reverse.
“But, that won’t work. In fact, every day I face the stigma that vinegar is just spoiled wine.
“However, we don’t just get wine, leave the lid off and expect vinegar to happen. If it was that easy, everyone would do it. That was the first thing I had to get over.
“One of my mentors, John McDonald, a food provedore in Brisbane, said to me one day, ‘you’re not spoiling wine, you’re making vinegar’. And that was a truly enlightening moment for me.
“So, with a translated book and a changing mindset, I made my first batch of vinegar 18 months later.”
Mr Henderson used a siphon to hand bottle the 50 litres made, bashed caps in using a rubber mallet, stuck a label on and sent it express to the US in a pallet.
It was then exhibited at the San Francisco Fancy Food Show, the largest show of its kind in the world.
“A buyer from a large chain store in the US saw it, liked it and, within 12 months, I was in 700 grocery stores. Within two years I was in 2000 grocery stores.”
Still on a high the next year, Mr Henderson won a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Scholarship, which gave him six weeks to immerse himself in Europe’s vinegar culture.
It was this trip that solidified Mr Henderson’s vision for his future in the industry.
“I came back understanding what our niche would be,” he said. “Most importantly, I was able to teleport into time and see what the Australian vinegar industry would look like in a decade.”
And did it come to fruition, Mr Henderson?
“Yes! I not only saw the future, I was part of making it happen. I kid you not.”
Based in Stanthorpe, Australian Vinegar is now an industrial food manufacturer, with innovation as its point of difference.
Mr Henderson said when he returned from Europe he took time to survey the local landscape and failed to find one innovator.
“Back then, the Australian vinegar industry was a few big plants making plain white vinegar and some apple cider vinegar.
“So, we said, ‘that’s our piece, we’re going to be the innovator of vinegar’. For starters, we made Australian barrel-aged, shiraz vinegar for the US market.
“Who else in the world is going to make an Australian barrel-aged, shiraz vinegar?
“It’s not the Italians, it’s not the Spanish, it’s not the French, it’s not the Austrians, it’s not the Germans, it’s not the Americans.
“So, we innovated a way to be truly unique in the world and that’s the culture that remains today. We are an innovation company. You come to us because we can solve your problems.”
Mr Henderson said the focus over the past two years – the Covid mission – had been to put food on shelves.
“We have said that we will make sure we will not let the Australian food supply chain down,” he said.
“We take our responsibility very seriously, It’s a great privilege and great responsibility.
“We resisted the invitations to make hand sanitiser. We could have but we didn’t. Not having hand sanitiser won’t kill you. Not having food absolutely will kill you.”
Aside from industrial food manufacture, Australian Vinegar makes products for grocery stores. Half is sold in bulk, the balance in labeled bottles.
Mr Henderson said rather than measure success through profit or litres made, Australian Vinegar counts innovation and culture as its benchmarks.
It has 33 employees, up from five six years ago.
“I love employing people, I really do,” he said. “I love giving people their first job. I love seeing people buy their first house.
“I measure growth not in litres and dollars made but in growth of culture and in improvement in people. The profit is measured by happiness.
“We’re a happiness-driven, results-driven company, we’re not in it for money. We want to change the way Australians think about vinegar.”
Mr Henderson, who also holds a Bachelor of Science (physics, mathematics) often reflects on that prophetic phone call from his friend in the US.
“Agreeing to make vinegar was one of the sliding door moments in my life,” he said.
“I could have just hung up and went, ‘Are you crazy? People will think I’m just a bad winemaker’ and I don’t know where I would be today.
“Lesson learnt? Never pass an opportunity that comes by. Always consider it first before you just say no.”
