About the Winemakers
Niki Nikolovska + Tom Byrne | Babche Wines
Babche is the love child of Niki Nikolovska and Tim Byrne - partners in wine, life, and raising a toddler while running a vineyard (no big deal). Niki’s journey started far from Victoria’s wine country, growing up in Toronto whilst spending summers in rural Macedonia with her grandparents, who made their own wine, cheese, and moonshine. After years in health sciences, she couldn’t shake the pull of the land and eventually swapped lab work for vineyard life, working harvests around the world before settling in Bellarine. Tim, a Victoria native and trained viticulturist, brings his deep knowledge of soil, vines, and winemaking to the mix. Together, they’ve built Babche with a commitment to organic farming, minimal intervention, and wines that reflect both their roots and the land they love.
Babche is a nod to the old ways, where wine was made by hand, with care, and without shortcuts. Niki and Tim work across two unique Victorian sites: the Bellarine Peninsula, where they produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from organically farmed vineyards, and their new project in Timboon - a future permaculture farm and vineyard set on clay and limestone soils. Inspired by Niki’s Macedonian heritage, Babche wines are made with the same philosophy her grandparents lived by: hands-on, sustainable, and with zero unnecessary additions. Using hand-cranked basket presses, wild fermentation, and gravity-fed movement, they craft wines that are vibrant, expressive, and true to place—bottling a little bit of the past for the future.
