Emily McNally
OWNER AND OPERATOR AT JASPER HILL VINEYARD
“THERE WAS A LOVE FOR WHAT MY PARENTS HAD CREATED INSTEAD OF A PASSION FOR WINE THAT DREW ME BACK TO JASPHER HILL”
When did you first know you wanted to become a winemaker?
“I’m not sure it was about realising I wanted to be a winemaker as much as timing. I became a winemaker when I felt it right to come back and join the family business. More a combination of needing to be surrounded by family love and support, mixed with okay let’s see how it goes making wine with the family. There was a love for what my parents had created instead of a passion for wine that drew me back to Jasper Hill. Working alongside my parents and also with my husband Nick, while raising our family, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Mum and Dad demonstrated what it takes to make exceptional wine and have an enjoyable life at the same time.”
“It’s pretty simple really. I have a Primary teaching degree, but never taught, and only half a Wine Science degree and have made 26 vintages. All at Jasper Hill, making the family’s estate-grown wine plus two other labels, Occam’s Razor and Lo Stesso. Learning though a lifetime of growing up on the vineyard under the guidance of my parents Ron and Elva Laughton. Side note: Nick and I did have one quick vintage over in Italy making wines with close friends, and although we were making wine it certainly felt like a holiday.”
What do you love most about being a winemaker?
“Seasonal change. Throughout the year we are not doing the same job. Sure, there are things that stay the same, I love meeting people at the cellar door for tastings but unfortunately the office work and emails keep coming in. The main premise of what we do, making wine changes with the seasons. Vintage in autumn, pruning in winter, spring is the growing season so plenty to do in the vineyard and it’s also the time we release the new wines. What’s not to love.”
What is your favourite wine, and what food do you typically pair it with?
“My variety is riesling paired with a second glass of riesling.”
Is there a specific process you follow when developing a new wine?
“Our last new wine was the 2011 Lo Stesso Fiano so I’m pretty sure nothing we do is new anymore. We have six wines in our portfolio and happy to stay that way.”
“We don’t often drink our own wine unless I’m at a Jasper Hill dinner. I taste all our wines each time I have someone at our cellar door, so that is enough. There are plenty of other wines out there, so I love drinking wines made by friends within the industry.”
“Heathcote is based inland, affected by a continental climate with distinct seasonal variability. Climate is an important factor; without rain nothing grows. Winter dormancy allows us time to prune and sets up fruit for future vintages. Spring rain ensures vigour and growth. Sunshine and warmth ripen fruit. Soil is always alive with microbes which provide the nutrients. It’s how Mother Nature does it. We have two vineyards, Emily’s and Georgia’s Paddock and both are situated in the red soil from the Cambrian era. Our 50-year-old vineyards are dry grown (without irrigation) so our wines reflect the seasonal variations in regard to yields and intensity.”
“Vintage 2022 was rewarding as it culminated from two years of reworking our vineyards after a particularly devastating 2019-2020 growing season with little to no rain. 2020 and 2021 we didn’t produce our full set of wines, so 2022 was exciting as they were all back.”
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
“Let’s get through the next couple of weeks before we think about that! There is always a wish list of new machinery, winery improvements, and a holiday thrown in the mix. Our winemaking principles won’t change; 100 per cent destemmed fruit, natural yeast fermentation, extended maceration, French oak. Keep everything clean do the best with what we have.”
“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sort”.