Garry Capelli and Leanne Rogers fulfilled a long-time dream when they moved to Denmark in 2005 and established the Lake House winery a year later.
STANDING on the deck of Denmark’s Lake House cellar door and restaurant, as the mist rises from the lake and surrounding hills, it is easy to understand how owners Garry Capelli and Leanne Rogers’ desire for a sea change led them here.
Before the couple bought the property in 2005 (and opened the doors to the Lake House in 2006) they lived the life of suburban commuters, having worked in Perth in the fields of finance broking and business training.
While Mr Capelli was running Smart Money, a finance-coaching firm, and Ms Rogers was operating the finance broking side of the business, they spent 10 years travelling to the Great Southern and figuring out how they could orchestrate a move to the region.
After searching for a property with a lake and at least 40 hectares, Ms Rogers and Mr Capelli say they were “compelled” to purchase what would become their home, and their work.
“There is something much bigger happening when food is being consumed and wine is being drunk. The important thing then is the social interaction and connection and the validation within those connections. That is what I think is special,” Mr Capelli says of what he witnesses on a daily basis at the Lake House restaurant.
“I grew up in the country with that connection of country values, country life, nature; in the city I sort of felt like it just wasn’t giving me those feelings of connection. I thought there has got to be more to life than the one I had created.
“That connection of the restaurant, people and creating the environment, that all seemed to make sense.”
Ms Rogers jokes, with a thinly disguised sincerity, that she never wants to leave the property because it provides her with everything she needs.
“I feel like I have been here forever, and I don’t want to leave most of the time. I would just stay on the property if I could,” she says.
Ms Rogers developed another arm to the Lake House business – the line of Vino Foods condiments – which started as six products and grew to 20. She now directs most of her energy to this, rather than her broking business, although she retains a small client base.
“When you have limited time you have to work out where you want to put your energy, and what makes you happy. I love the Lake House and my Vino Foods and wine, so I kind of want to spend all my time doing that,” Ms Rogers says.
“It (finance broking) is a good business and I enjoy it and there is certainly work down this way to do. It wasn’t something I thought I was going to give up, but it is just sort of what has happened over time.”
Mr Capelli is in a similar place with Smart Money.
“There are still clients that Smart Money looks after, but the wine business has a way of getting in your system,” he says.
And while the finance industry has taken a back seat to the Lake House, moving to the rolling hills of the Great Southern has by no means flagged retirement for the pair.
Almost five years to the day since the business opened its doors, The Lake House boasts some significant feathers in its cap; the winery received five stars in Australian wine guru James Halliday’s Wine Companion, with its chardonnay receiving 97 points and shiraz two points behind Penfolds Grange at 96 points.
That has led to new demand from the eastern states, with fine dining restaurants in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria all stocking Lake House wines.
And with increasing inquiry for Ms Rogers’ Vino Foods, the couple are currently looking to secure a distributer on the eastern seaboard and boosting production levels to meet demand.
Mr Capelli agrees with his partner’s assertion that the business works well because of her micro focus and his macro vision.
“I may have the vision and confidence to run with it, but all the back end of it, the operations and the thoroughness of the restaurant, the food, the vino food, all that side of things isn’t me, that’s Leanne,” Mr Capelli told WA Business News.
After five years in business, Mr Capelli is passionate about the outcomes.
“You have an idea of something that is possible and valuable to do personally, and you hope other people would enjoy the result. To actually then see people enjoying the Lake House environment and enjoying Lake House wines, getting five-star status, having the best chardonnay in Australia. You wonder how all that is possible,” he says.
“It is possible because you had a vision, and the confidence to run with that. But it is lots of people coming together. You can’t run a vineyard on your own, you can’t run a restaurant on your own. You can’t develop wine on your own. It is a huge team game.”
