I started in the winemaking racket in 1989. The auspicious Roseworthy winemaking degree required all students to do a practical term at an Australian winery. I was accepted for a role in the vintage cellar at Tyrrells Vineyards. To this day, it remains seminal and amongst the most inspiring three months of my life. Shortly after, I accepted a job there as an assistant winemaker. Four years later and with a good dose of Mr Murray Tyrrell blooding us on the best and most diverse Burgundies, I was ready to be pushed off into the wild west. I accepted a contract as a flying winemaker across Europe, Moldova and South Africa.

Green as grass, I arrived in the South of France at 23 years of age, with a work car and a mandate to produce Chardonnay. It was a risky and audacious project I had committed to, courtesy of a few Australian entrepreneurs, who had a good eye for the value of sending young, trained Australian winemakers abroad. This was the start of my long and intertwining road with legends, upstarts, wankers and youngsters all of whom have educated me, embraced me, embarrassed me, lessoned me, but ultimately shaped me into the winemaker I am today.

I am a far better winemaker for every single minute of contact I have had with other colleagues, that’s how the wine world really works, through shared experiences. I have been fortunate enough to try the most famous and expensive wines in the world, I think that qualifies me to make a decisive call that Australia easily make the finest wines in the world, and I am proud to be a part of it.