"I suppose the place starts to feel a little bit like one of your own children," he said.

Mr Wilson and wife Mary have decided to sell their historic Legana vineyard, which they bought in 2001.

Speaking from the Tamar Valley property yesterday, Mr Wilson said letting go was sure to be a bittersweet experience.

"It is a little bit sad to let go because we've put so much work into it and done so much with it," he said.

"But we've been at it for a while, and it's time to move on and try something new."

Mr Wilson said the past 12 years had been filled with hard but enjoyable work.

"Working on a vineyard is definitely not an easy thing to do," he said.

"But while it can be challenging, it's also incredibly rewarding."

One of Mr Wilson's highlights was opening the Barrel Room restaurant this time last year.

"Opening the restaurant after nearly a year of planning and building was a pretty special experience," he said.

"It was a hard road to get to that point."

Mr Wilson said awards Velo had been presented for their wines was validating, but wasn't the couple's main motivator in producing top drops.

"I've been very hands-on with the wines - I do nearly all of the work in the vineyard myself," he said.

You can be quite proud of the wines when they're good, and I'm just really pleased with the style and quality of what we've produced."

Mr Wilson said Legana had changed considerably since he and Mary moved into the area.

"When we arrived the supermarket was a very small shop and there wasn't much else around," he said.

"Since then the area's grown in size and become a busy, trendy little area to live."

Mr Wilson said a holiday was definitely in order for the couple after the sale, and that they would play it by ear after that.