“We are very proud of what we have achieved over the last seven years” said Aled Hoggett, Master Cheesemaker and manager of the family enterprise. “We are particularly happy to have been able to contribute to Gloucester.”

“However, there comes a time to reassess priorities, and family concerns have led us to wind up operations and start a new phase of life.”

Capparis has been on the market for a number of months. There has been some interest in buying the business as a going concern, but no firm offers. So, when Aled received a call from a large commercial dairy in Victoria looking for milking goats, the decision was made to sell the commercial herd.

“We wanted to sell the business as a going concern” said Aled, “but in the end all the prospective buyers baulked at the obvious risk and hard work involved in this type of business. The decision to sell the herd was hard, but also an opportunity to move forward.”

All the partners agreed with the decision. “It’s hard to close the door on such a big part of our lives,” said Jim Hoggett “but Coral and I are looking to slow down, and a business like Capparis just doesn’t allow that.”

Coral, who has managed the marketing of Capparis cheese is upbeat about the family’s achievements. “We currently supply many of Sydney’s top restaurants” she said, “Add to that over 30 major medals and we have a lot to look back on.”

For Tania the hardest part was to watch the goats leave the property last week. “Aled and I have put so much work into the goats,” she said. “Every goat has a name and a personality and a life history. They were all born on the property. To see them on the truck and disappearing down the road was tough.”

And the future? “We’re not leaving the Bowman” said Aled. “We made a decision to settle in Gloucester and build a family farm. The first chapter is coming to a close. When the dust has settled we’ll go back to the drawing board. In the meantime we are all looking forward to a break.”

It is not likely to be a future without goats. Capparis has retained is stud herd of registered Anglo Nubian dairy goats. “We can’t imagine a future without goats” said Tania “even if it’s just breeding for sale and so Aled can still make cheese for us.”