Ampersand Estates: A surprising story

Western australian and lqbtqia+ owned and operated

Ampersand Estates’ name was inspired by the philosophy that you shouldn’t have to choose – you should have it all.

Ampersand, quite literally, is the symbol for ‘and’, which is why the passionate entrepreneurial duo of Melissa Bell and Corrie Scheepers brought the Estate back to life and named it in honour of the ideology of having the best of all worlds and not staying in one lane.

Formerly the Donnelly River Winery, the oldest in the region, Ampersand Estates has had new life breathed back into it and what a vibrant and blossoming piece of the Southern Forests and Valleys it now is. All because of two unrelenting individuals who wanted more than the 9-5 life they had grown accustomed to.

The business partners made Australia their home later in life, with Melissa being a Mississippi native and Corrie hailing from South Africa. Both working for Deloitte and being a part of the LQBTQIA+ community, they decided to go onto business together when they realised their shared values, visions and goals.

After establishing, operating and then selling The Terrace Initiative to former employers Deloitte, Corrie and Melissa set their minds to something they had never done before – the purchase and rehabilitation of a winery and distillery in a regional area. Why?

As Corrie would say, why not.

Ampersand Estates was born through blood, sweat, tears and copius amounts of wines at the end of long and hard days of renovating. But the passion and persistence shows in the end result.

LGBTQIA+ owned and operated

Rainfall Distillery, just one of the many diverse offerings of the Estate, offers premium gin and vodka spirits made from local botanicals in the region. The branding was designed to reflect the rainbow of the LQBTQIA+ community and to further emphasize the key value of the company – authenticity