In 2022, I produced a small-scale winemaking project with organic Barossa Valley Grenache. This process provided me with experience liaising with growers and contract suppliers, coordinating off-premise operations including contract bottling at a commercial facility, conducting hands-on winemaking and running analyses on juice and wine.

This year I returned to Hardy’s Tintara in the Winemaking team. This role afforded me many tasting opportunities and a higher level of responsibility. I was responsible for fruit receival across the weighbridge and processing at the crush pad, press cuts, transfer movements, fermentation management, barrel management, and writing and processing worknotes for the cellar using Vintrace winery software. I was the on-site winemaker who responded to most enquiries from the cellar. I worked alongside the lead winemakers to ensure their winemaking decisions were delivered in the cellar while maintaining quality control.

During my studies and between vintages, I worked at a few bottle shops in Adelaide specialising in wine. The roles had very similar responsibilities. I was required to assist customers with wine enquiries, coordinate online orders, facilitate event and specialty orders, liaise with suppliers, manage stock, and provide input into wine offering by partaking in tastings with distributors.

I recently completed a vintage in a small winery in the south of France. This winery processes 80 hectares of fruit. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is known for its high alcohol wines with high fruit concentration. The region predominantly produces Grenache, Syrah, Roussanne and Grenache-dominant blends. The winery team comprised of only 6 people, and I was involved in all winery operations, including: fruit receival and processing, cap management, additions, fermentation management, inoculations, transfers, racking, decuvage, barrel maintenance, pressing, and maturity sampling.

I worked as a Vineyard Hand for premium Adelaide Hills producer, CRFT Wines. I implemented cane and spur pruning on estate and leased vineyards, trimmed and tied-down canes, removed diseased trunks, and initiated retraining practices such as layering.

I was awarded the Kenneth T. Hardy Scholarship to take a cellar position at the historic Tintara winery in the McLaren Vale region of South Australia. The winery produces premium-grade wines for 6 different brands and receives fruit and juice from Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia. My role was primarily based in the white/sparkling cellar. Duties undertaken included fermentation management, initiating and managing yeast cultures, transfers, racking, fining, additions, warming/chilling, dirty-ups, inoculations, and general sanitation. I received extensive tasting experience of juices and ferments and was awarded my own Pied de Cuvee winemaking project.

In my final year of study, I was employed to assist academic and cellar staff to present practicals for the Introduction to Winemaking subject. My role was to help students with winemaking calculations and demonstrate how to use laboratory equipment to run analyses and how to use equipment in the cellar.

Murdoch Hill is a small, premium producer based in the cool climate region of the Adelaide Hills. They have a processing capacity of 150 tonnes and operate with only 5 staff members during vintage. I conducted general small-scale winery operations as a cellar hand, including cap management, sorting & crushing fruit, pressing, conducting basic lab analyses (Baume, TA, pH, temp), and making juice/wine additions, fermentation management, general sanitation, barrel work, canopy & irrigation management. I also received extensive juice & ferment tasting experience.

In between vintages, I worked at Murdoch Hill in the Cellar Door. I would host intimate tastings and providing insight into sub-regional growing conditions and the winemaking techniques employed. I was also responsible for processing and packing orders, stock management, writing tasting and technical notes, and coordinating functions.

Over the 2020-2021 growing season, I was awarded an internship with DJ’s Growers and Services. DJ’s provide viticultural consultancy services to premium winegrowing regions of SA. My role was to report on the health status of many vineyards throughout McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills to senior agronomists, evaluate vine nutrient status, report on the incidence and severity of disease, and observe pest populations in the vineyard & assess the severity of damage.