When did you realise you wanted to become a viticulturalist?

Working in vineyards with friends during the school holidays and learning about the industry started my love for wine and growing grapes.

Please tell us about your career so far.

I started working for McWilliams Wines at their Brands vineyard in Coonawarra while completing viticulture studies.

I then went on to manage a vineyard growing fruit for Treasury Wines and growing premium fruit for Penfolds Wines, before moving to Victoria and Marnong Estate

What do you love most about being a viticulturalist?

Working in a team environment and seeing the whole season come together. No two years are the same and you make hundreds of decisions during a season; from pruning techniques, canopy management, water and crop levels to harvest timing.

You get to see the story the wine will produce each year.

What is your favourite wine, and what food do you typically pair it with?

My favourite wine changes very often depending on the time of the year but our Marnong Estate Pinot Noir with its versatility goes very well with a lean cut steak.

Is there a specific process you follow in developing a new wine?

I find that when you have challenging years with bad weather conditions getting to the end of the season producing some great wines is very rewarding!

It’s nice to have the perfect years and everything run smoothly but the challenging ones makes the wine taste that extra bit special

Is there a specific vintage you are particularly proud of creating? Why?

The 2021 St Ethels 1878 Vines Shiraz, only one barrel, 30 dozen, ancient vines, second edition was awarded 97 points from Halliday. My first 97-point wine. I thought it was a cracker and at least someone else agreed!