Explore people and careers across the viticulture and wine sector

As an avid surfer, weather was always top of mind for Ben.

So it seemed only natural to combine his interest in weather with a career in viticulture, where weather is an integral part of decision making.

“When you surf, you become a bit of a weather geek,” Ben said. “As a teenager I was constantly checking the weather forecast and exploring ways to improve my weather knowledge – because it meant the difference between an average surf and a great surf.”

Ben says weather conversions between surfers and viticulturists are strangely similar: “Both groups have a strong base knowledge of the subject, are constantly checking weather apps and enjoy discussing the weather and climate in detail!”

Born and raised in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, Ben was a sporty kid who loved hanging around his friend’s farms and all things agricultural. During the school holidays he worked as a farm hand and when the weather permitted, he headed to the coast.

He chose viticulture because it was a good fit with his passions of agriculture, weather and climate. The fact that many of Australia’s greatest wine regions are located within close proximity to good surf sealed the deal for him.

“I was accepted into a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Viticultural Science) at the University of Adelaide but decided to defer for a year. I worked as a farm hand and at the Petaluma winery, where I worked general cellar operations involving early stages of sparkling wine production, as well as bottling.”

The wine sector was booming in the mid 90s and Ben was becoming more entrenched and interested in wine, so he returned to university to complete his degree.

Over the next few years, Ben worked across New Zealand, Bordeaux and Australia in technical and management roles. Today, he is the viticulture manager at Wynns Coonawarra Estate.

Ben has a passion in bridging the gap between R&D and the practical application of the latest knowledge and technology.

“There is an amazing amount of great research and technology that could benefit the wine sector, but the majority is never taken up by the industry,” he said. 

“There is risk involved, it takes time, trial and error and can take longer than planned – and cost more than planned – but the rewards are there for the brave and determined.”

Ben has been at the forefront of leveraging R&D at Wynns, including applying new learnings from rootstock and clonal trials in new vineyard developments, using data analytics to improve yield forecasting, using new technology and data to monitor vine stress; and applying extended weather forecasts and modelling to improve irrigation scheduling and canopy/crop manipulation. 

One of Ben’s key innovations occurred in 2018, in partnership with The Yield and other organisations in which historical data, along with climatic data was leveraged to improve yield estimation and vineyard management decisions across company vineyards. 

“My aim always is to take key learnings and knowledge from the past and continue to improve and adapt to a changing climate through the practical application of R&D and new technology,” he said.

^{This profile was originally published on 21 January 2022.}

Colin Bell has the enviable pleasure of balancing his love of the ocean with his passion for the wine sector.

As a Margaret River native, he gets to enjoy both.

Colin starts most days at the crack of dawn with a surf or a run along the coastline, and then jumps in his ute and heads to the ‘office’ – the vineyards of the Margaret River region where he manages company vineyards and consults to wineries and growers in his viticultural consultancy role with AHA Viticulture.

In between, he serves as a board member for Wines of Western Australia, and a Director and independent board member of Australian Vignerons.

Colin’s contribution to the wine sector was recognised with the 2018 ASVO Viticulturist of the Year Award – with the judges noting his ‘steadfast commitment to sector connectivity to achieve improvement in all facets of production, financial management, marketing of grapes and wine brand development’.

Colin said he loves to challenge practices and use innovation to improve performance and generate profitable businesses.

For example, his work evaluating Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot clones in Margaret River led to the adoption of new clones with enhanced quality and sustainability; and his use of Growing Degree Days (which measures heat accumulation to predict vine development rates) into the management of all his vineyards has helped him to predict key developmental stages and thus enable proactive decision-making.

The adoption of real-time digital data collection, including unit-based performance and financial tracking, cloud based storage and data sharing has been key to Colin’s success.

"Embracing technology has changed the way we run at every level of our viticulture. We work in remote areas, and a paperless system has allowed us to communicate faster and act more accurately than ever before."

Colin said it’s been great to see his staff and clients adapt to new technologies: "Our implementation strategy has been to start slowly and involve the crew in developments. It didn’t take long before the improvement suggestions came flowing in from the bottom up!"

Colin said the wine sector was going through an exciting phase as it increasingly embraced regional initiatives that were designed to foster individuality.

"I’m excited by collaborative self-discovery – where we look at how our regional culture interacts with our climate, soils and vineyards to yield unique characters."

Looking forward, he hopes to dive deeper into understanding what he has learnt so far ‘and and articulate this in our generational succession.’

Colin believes sector connectivity is critical to the wine sector’s growth, moving forward.

"Very little is completely made in Australia these days – and even less so in country Australia. Wine is so important for regional communities as it brings a three-stage economy to the bush.

"Wine production adds incredible diversity, opportunity, and value to our communities; and increasing export is the key to the sector finding its greater potential.

"When we connect across the whole sector, we give ourselves a chance to make better strategic decisions and capture a greater share of the international wine market. When you focus on export collectively, you shift your competitiveness to other wine producing countries and not the grower next door."

Colin says he is honoured to receive the ASVO award – but is quick to acknowledge others.

"Much of the sector work I have done is dry dinner conversation. Many who contribute tirelessly and voluntarily to the sector fly under the radar. The wine sector and community have given me a career, countless friends and a rewarding life. Giving back has been great."

^{This profile was first published on 7 December 2018.}

Catherine Kidman was mid-way through an undergraduate degree in Viticultural Science when a passing comment from a well-respected colleague and mentor planted a seed of possibility in her mind, and set her on a new career direction.

"I was on a summer cadetship at the Department of Primary Industries in Irymple, Victoria, immersed in the world of viticultural research and science. I was fortunate enough to apprentice with Dr Mark Krstic (ASVO Viticulturist of the Year 2020) and was exposed to some really exciting research on yield forecasting, tannins and irrigation.

"Mark saw my keen interest in the research and suggested I should consider doing a PhD. It was a lightbulb moment for me, and I realised this was the area of the wine sector I wanted to be in."

Years later, with her PhD under her belt – and the announcement that she has been named both the 2020 Australian Women in Wine’s Viticulturist of the Year (an award sponsored by Wine Australia) and the 2020 Gourmet Traveller WINE Viticulturist of the Year – Dr Kidman is able to reflect on the importance of inspiring leadership.

"Never underestimate the influence you may have on someone. I have been fortunate to have some amazing mentors in my career and I am so grateful for their interest and support over the years. They have inspired me and helped keep the lights burning bright for me."

Dr Kidman said it was serendipity that she ended up in the wine sector. 

As a child growing up on the outskirts of Melbourne, she loved going for long walks exploring the paddocks and reserves around her home at the base of the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. 

"I loved plants, flowers and biology and so when I saw the viticultural science course during my final year of high school, I thought I’d give it a go!"

Dr Kidman did her undergraduate degree at LaTrobe University in Bundoora and then was awarded a Wine Australia-funded (then the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation) honours scholarship that took her to Merbein to study at CSIRO’s iconic Merbein research station.

"It was an incredible research station; so many amazing projects and scientists have called Merbein home so I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to work there."

In 2011, Dr Kidman joined the viticultural team at Wynns Coonawarra Estate, overseeing the technical program and implementing R&D projects exploring vine water status, climate mitigation and investigating techniques for early, accurate yield predictions.

Along with her role at Wynn’s, Dr Kidman is also an alumni of Wine Australia’s leadership program Future Leaders and supervises both Masters and PhD students.

Dr Kidman said there has never been a more interesting and exciting time to be a viticulturist and she is motivated by the challenges and opportunities that the season, soil types and varieties present.

"A key focus for me is developing a better understanding of how our grapevines respond to climate and how we can better adapt our vines here in Coonawarra to cope with a dynamic environment. It’s a really exciting space to be in actually and I have learnt to never underestimate how savvy our grapevines actually are to adapting.

"That’s the magic of wine – in every bottle you get to experience the unique vintage and how the vineyard and vines have responded."

Dr Kidman said she hoped the exposure created around her awards would allow her to "lift others up on their journey, expose them to possibilities and opportunities that perhaps they hadn’t considered – and show people how great it is to be in the Australian wine community!"

^{This profile was first published on 11 December 2020.}

An average day in the life of Dr Kerry DeGaris would make most people’s head spin.

Last week, it looked something like this: Up at 5.30 am…check emails…walk the dogs…chores in the garden…weigh the lambs…attend South East Natural Resources Management board meeting…back on the farm…more chores…dinner…evening meeting back in town.

In between, she somehow manages to squeeze in her role as Chair of the Technical Sub-Committee of the Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council, and instigate and take part in various research and extension projects in the Limestone Coast.

"It’s a balancing act – I certainly need a good diary!" she says with a laugh.

It is this dedication and contribution to the Australian wine sector that saw Kerry crowned the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) Viticulturist of the Year 2019 last month.

It’s an accolade that Kerry treasures.

"Being recognised by your peers is a huge honour, but more importantly winning the award gives me a platform to promote the Limestone Coast wine region and the local research being undertaken here", she said.

Kerry was always destined for a life on the land.

Born and raised at Bool Lagoon – where she still lives – she moved to Adelaide to attend boarding school and later university.

She studied a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at the Waite Institute and graduated during the 1990s wine sector boom times, when viticulturists were in great demand.

"I specialised in Agricultural Science during my undergraduate days as I thought I needed to keep my options open – I’m pleased I did as the skills I’ve obtained have allowed me to diversify later on in life", Kerry said.

Kerry has led a number of valuable research projects that have helped winegrape growers better understand and manage challenges such as eutypa, iron bacteria in irrigation water, salinity and Cabernet berry shrivel. She has been involved in the development of many of the fact sheets, webinars and workshops that growers turn to.

Her work has also included winemaking trials from local rootstock trials and fostering research relationships between PhD students and Limestone Coast growers.

Kerry says a key challenge for growers in the future will be adapting to the changing climate and learning to use water in an ever-increasing minimalistic way.

"I believe stewardship programs will become more common place as a result, and the influence of regulatory pressure will become more challenging."

Outside of traditional work, ‘community’ and her beloved animals ("I have a menagerie!") are key drivers for Kerry.

"My motivation around my volunteer work is a sense of community. I volunteer on a number of committees to ensure that the events that are important to us as a community – including the Penola Show, Penola National Trust, Bool Lagoon Hall – continue to thrive."

^{This profile was first published on 13 December 2019.}

When Nicole Pitman samples patches, she makes a morning of it. Literally.

As viticulturalist for Kingston Estate Wines – spanning 1500 hectares of vines across 150 blocks and 6 sites in the Riverland – she has learnt to ‘super size’ her decisions and operations.

"I can sample up to 50 patches a day in peak times; and yield mapping might involve 1000 tonnes of fruit a day or 50-plus trucks across 6 sites", Nicole said.

Nicole’s skill in developing and implementing systems to track and measure activities across such a vast operation was recognised in the recent Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA), where she was named Viticulturist of the Year – an award sponsored by Wine Australia. 

Nicole said the biggest challenge of large-scale viticulture was making sure things are done on time and correctly.

As a result, she has become "Queen of the Spreadsheet".

"When it is spray season, for example, I have to co-ordinate spray programs across 150 plus patches – so spreadsheets are my best friend! The operation involves calculating what has been sprayed in the previous week, and then creating spray work orders for the following week. This takes attention to detail to ensure no patches are stretched past 10–14 day spray intervals, that all the tanks have the correct mix of chemicals, and that everything is calibrated correctly."

Spring is also "quite busy" when petiole samples and bunch counts need to be co-ordinated and collected.

"We normally bunch count around October, when canopies are smaller. If a heat wave is on its way, I monitor soil moisture on our sites closely via our web-based site (remote access) to ensure the soil moisture doesn’t become too low to cause dehydration of the fruit."

Nicole has become so adept at implementing and monitoring systems that she was recently invited by Riverland Wine to join a meeting of local ‘thinkers’ and engineers from Adelaide University for collaborative projects.

But Nicole said the ‘biggest and best’ part of her job was at the coalface, visiting vineyards and talking to staff on the ground.

"I enjoy monitoring the vines and using data gathered in the vineyard to help the business make more informed decisions. I really enjoy the challenge of how every season is different and presents different viticulture challenges.

"I am also passionate about warm climate viticulture, as I think it presents its own challenges and opportunities viticulturally. The Riverland wine region is a great place to be, whether you are producing bulk wine, growing alternative varieties, or organic. There are many exciting opportunities to be had."

Nicole said the Viticulturalist of the Year award was a "welcome surprise".

"It was great for a warm climate viticulturist to be recognised in a national award. I hope by receiving the award I can encourage other local young women to consider a career in the sector, as there are many opportunities to follow your passions."

She said her dad was almost as excited as her about the award.

"He has grown fruit in the Riverland his whole life, and was my inspiration to get into agriculture. I think he was pretty chuffed about the whole thing."

^{This profile was first published on 7 December 2018.}

As a kid, Alex Cassegrain was more likely to be found with his head buried under the hood of a tractor, than buried in a book.

“I always preferred learning by ‘doing’,” says Alex.

Alex spent a lot of his childhood exploring the Hastings River countryside with his brother and cousins around his family’s Port Macquarie vineyard, Cassegrain Wines, and tinkering with his dad’s tractors. Vintage was always a highlight of the year, and Alex loved being in the thick of it.

It was only natural for Alex to gravitate towards viticulture and he began studying his Diploma of Viticulture at Kurri Kurri TAFE. With its adjacent vineyard and hands-on approach, it was the perfect learning environment for Alex.

On completion of his course, he moved to Tasmania to work at Tamar Ridge, under Andrew Pirie. 

“I worked a harvest as a cellar hand and I never looked back. It gave me such a buzz to work in the cellar and I ended up staying in Tasmania for a few years before moving to France to work at Château Guiraud in Sauternes,” he said.

It was also during this time that he successfully applied to the University of Adelaide to study a Bachelor of Oenology and Viticulture. During his studies he returned to France, this time to work for Taransaud making barrels. “It really gave me a great insight into how all the elements of winemaking come together.”

Alex eventually returned to the family vineyard and over the next few years worked his way up to Senior Winemaker. 

Up until the devastating bushfire crisis of 2019–20, Alex had very little experience working with smoke taint in wines. He obtained any information and experiences available, which allowed him to trial different approaches and to "think ouside the square". 

“As a wine community, we didn’t want to walk away from the harvest – and I’m glad we didn’t. We’d been dealing with years of drought, which had resulted in lower yields and loss of revenue. We were convinced we had to try and salvage what fruit we had.”

Alex played a pivotal role working with smoke-affected fruit following the bushfires.

Working as part of a team, he used bucket ferments to trial a range of techniques to reduce the impact of smoke taint on the wine – the results of which he shared at the National Wine Sector Bushfire Conference coordinated by Wine Australia – in May 2021.

Alex received a three-year $950,000 grant from the Federal Government's Cooperative Research Centres Projects to work with industry partners in Australia and New Zealand researching the effects of smoke taint in wine. 

Alex said while he was genuinely pleased to be named ASVO 2021 Winemaker of the Year, he felt that winning the award was a team effort for those involved in the project.

“I’m so grateful to all the growers who went on this journey with us, not knowing what the final outcome would be. In the end we were quite happy with some of the wines we produced. Not all were successful, but it was a learning curve and we feel we are in a much better position now than we were before the fires.”

“This award is for all of us,” he said.

^{This profile was first published on 16 December 2021.}

When you’re good at math and science at school, engineering seems the obvious career choice. But what happens when you love drama and art as well? Then what?

"I very nearly chose engineering, but in the end oenology won out and I’m so glad it did. Winemaking combines science, creativity and art, and I love that I am able to combine all three when I craft wine", says Dowie Doole’s Chief Winemaker and Managing Director, Chris Thomas, a Wine Australia Future Leaders alumni.

Chris was born a city kid, but always knew his future would lie somewhere between the city and country.

"I was brought up in the Adelaide suburb of Malvern and went to Concordia College. We were a small family – just me, my parents and brother, but we had lots of cousins and holidays were always a big family affair."

On the weekends, Chris would often accompany his parents on trips to the wine regions around South Australia.

"We went to the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale, and I loved these trips. It was the late 1990s and the wine sector was booming. There was a real vibe and buzz around cellar doors. It was a fun place to grow and learn."

But it was the small, laid-back community of McLaren Vale – coupled with its beautiful wines, Mediterranean climate and proximity to the sea – that captured Chris’ heart.

"I always knew I would end up there’, he said. ‘I love the sense of community in the Vale; it feels like one big family."

Chris graduated in oenology from the University of Adelaide in 2003 and went to work at wineries in McLaren Vale, as well as in Burgundy, France. He joined Dowie Doole in 2011 and, in 2015, purchased the winery with a group of like-minded shareholders.

Chris’s winemaking style is to produce elegant fruit-driven wines that encapsulate the essence of the vineyards in which they were grown and the vintage in which they were produced.

"In short, I aim to capture each wine’s sense of place in a bottle", Chris said.

In 2019, Chris graduated from Wine Australia’s Future Leaders program and says what he learned during the program has been invaluable.

"The main thing I learnt from the program is that nurturing myself and becoming the best version of 'me' helps me become the best leader I can be – and is just as important as having good work ethic and commitment. 

"The program also helped me to realise that empowering my team to become the best versions of themselves is my most important role as a leader."

Before COVID-19 hit, Chris spent a third of the year travelling the globe and showcasing "the amazing quality and breadth of the Australian wine sector."

"We truly have world class wines and it is an honour to showcase them alongside the top wines from other wine regions."

^{This profile was first published on12 February 2021.}

McLaren Vale in late spring is glorious. The vines are green and lush, the skies are blue and the sun lingers into the early evening.

It was on one of these recent golden afternoons that winemaker Corrina Wright was reminded of why she loves what she does.

"I had been invited to lunch at d’Arenberg’s Cube to launch an innovative piece of technology for the wine sector", she recalls. ‘Our vineyards back onto each other [Corrina is at Oliver’s Taranga] so I rode my quad bike there.

"I went on to have an incredible lunch, taste some amazing wines, chat to some interesting wine sector colleagues and view some Salvador Dali sculptures.

"As I rode my bike home in the beautiful light, through my vineyards with kangaroos hopping by, I really thought that I was the luckiest person alive to do what I do right now."

It is this passion for life – and the wine community – that has sustained Corrina, and catapulted her into being awarded the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) Winemaker of the Year 2019.

Corrina was still studying winemaking when she convinced her family to give her some fruit from their vineyard to make wine. It was the first time that fruit from her family’s vineyard had been made into wine by someone with intimate knowledge of the land, the site and the fruit.

The wine was good, and Oliver’s Taranga was born.

But rather than follow the more traditional winemaking path using common varieties such as Shiraz, Corrina was keen to experiment with new grape varieties and it is this dedication to the development of innovative grape varieties and wine styles that has set her winemaking apart.

"We were asked in the early days to plant alternative grape varieties by other early adoptors, including Mark Lloyd from Coriole." Fiano and Sagrantino were first on the list, and others followed – including Vermentino and Australia’s first planting of Mencia.

"I was excited with what we found – texture, savoury elements, high natural acidity and the heat and drought tolerance of these alternative varieties.

"The more alternative wine styles I tried, the keener I got."

Corrina’s passion for the wine sector, and her contribution to it, was noted by the ASVO judging panel.

"Corrina is a key instigator and contributor in the Winemakers Federation of Australia (now Australian Grape and Wine) development of the Diversity and Equality Charter for the wine sector.

"Her leadership on cultural change for the wine community has also included her advisory board position on the Australian Women in Wine Awards, and her contribution to the creation of the sold out 'Hear Me Roar' Shiraz – the world’s first wine produced by women to raise funds for women in wine with 100 per cent of profits from the sale go to assist women to flourish and succeed in their chosen profession in the Australian wine sector", they noted.

Corrina says she feels incredibly humbled to receive the ASVO Winemaker of the Year Award.

"To be nominated and selected by your peers is truly special. It’s been nice to take the time to take stock and see what I have been able to contribute to the sector so far, and I look forward to contributing even more moving forward."

In the meantime, she is enjoying the moment: "Meeting incredible people, talking Aussie wine, tasting Aussie wine, changing perceptions and challenging people’s understanding of Aussie wine, learning from other incredible Aussie winemakers doing their own thing and sharing what we do – it’s an amazing sector."

^{This profile was first published on 13 December 2019.}

Kate Goodman was half way through a biomedical science degree when she realised life as a biomedical scientist was never going to cut the mustard.

"It just wasn’t creative enough for me."

Kate finished her degree, but changed tack along the way, taking electives in microbiology and fermentation technology.

"I had winemaking in the back of my mind, but I needed to confirm it. So I did a vintage at Wirra Wirra in McLaren Vale as a test run."

Kate was sold from the first day.

"I absolutely loved vintage. I loved that it was physical and outdoors, and I was excited by the smells, tastes and sounds of vintage. It was sensory overload, but in a good way! Wirra Wirra is also a beautiful place to work. Vintage ticked lots of boxes for me."

Decision made, Kate did a winemaking degree through Charles Sturt University and started in earnest on her wine journey – a journey that has led her to being named Winemaker of the Year in the Australian Women in Wine Awards in 2018.

Kate’s career to date is impressive.  It has taken her from large family-owned wineries such as Wirra Wirra, to the iconic Seppelt in the Grampians, Coonawarra’s Penley Estate and to ground-breaking newcomers such as Punt Road Wines in the Yarra Valley.

"I have also been fortunate enough to have consulted to an array of exceptional wine producers across Australia and have had pivotal career experiences participating in vintages in France, Spain and the United States", she said.

In 2013, Kate began her own eponymous wine label in the Yarra Valley, Goodman Wines, and sister label Nikkal Wine.

She says she loves the challenge of running her own gig. "It’s hard work, because you’re everything from the book keeper to the cleaner, cellar hand, winemaker and marketing person, but it’s really fulfilling". She also sits on the committee of the Yarra Valley Wine Growers’ Association and is a founding member of the Yarra Valley Wine Women.

In awarding Kate Winemaker of the Year 2018, the judges noted her creativity.

"…since January 2016 Kate has been working with Penley Estate in Coonawarra with the brief to make its wines more relevant and contemporary. Her first act was to listen to the vineyard and what she did next was very much outside the box – at least as far as traditional Coonawarra wine styles were concerned. She made an early release, delicious, bright, crunchy Cabernet Franc with zero oak influence and just masses of drinkability. It hit the spot with consumers and writers and its Aussie success has now opened up export markets for the wine", they said.

Kate said while Yarra Valley Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are the hallmark varieties of her own label, she takes great joy in evoking the sights, smells and tastes of Italy in her Vermentino and Negroamaro wines, using grapes grown in Heathcote, Victoria to add a little local flavour to the Italian classics.

"I have access to delicious fruit from a number of well-established, high-performing vineyards around the Yarra Valley, which gives me the flexibility to perfect my wines and produce varieties I am proud of."

"I love what I do. I’m very lucky."

^{This profile was first published on 11 January 2019.}

Mike Hayes left school at 15 with his heart set on a career in wine, but not in his wildest dreams did he think he would one day be named Winemaker of the Year by the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO).

Mind you, he probably would have been even more surprised to hear that he would earn a Masters degree, be named the University of Southern Queensland’s Professional Alumnus of the Year, and be appointed an Adjunct Professor in the University of Southern Queensland’s School of Agriculture Computational Sciences and Environmental Studies.

He’s certainly come a long way since the early days sitting on a chipping hoe in what was then very much the back blocks of the Australian wine sector.

Mike is proud to be the first Queenslander to win the ASVO’s highest winemaking award. As he quipped to the local media: "At last we have stepped out of the dark ages and achieved some of the recognition we deserve".

Now 53 and chief winemaker at Symphony Hill winery near Stanthorpe (which has won no less than 20 gold medals and 16 trophies at metropolitan and rural wine shows in 2017 alone), Mike has played a key role in the growth, innovation and success that has earned Queensland that recognition.

He admits that some of the early wines (including some of his own) weren’t great, but says he never doubted the state’s potential to make its mark.

"I knew right from the early days", he said. "Even back in 1981 I remember some of the encouraging results we got from the Royal Brisbane Wine Show when we put in a couple of wines. A Shiraz Cab blend got gold but the real encouragement was that this was a really cool climate wine.

"I realised we had to learn to appreciate our sense of place and find the right varieties and know how to grow them professionally, which flows on to winemaking. The other really important aspect was making the Queensland people proud of their sector, which is happening at the moment but took quite a while."

Mike started discovering what he calls emerging varieties back in 1979 when he worked on a small patch of Malbec with his father. He’d never heard of it, so he went down to the local library in Stanthorpe (this was before the days of computers) to do some reading.

He’s been exploring and learning ever since, including planting a trial plot of 60 new varieties at Symphony Hill, and in 2012 was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate autochthonous (indigenous) European varieties that might help combat the impact of climate change. He chased the vintage from Portugal to Germany, picking up ideas he believed would work at home.

This in turn led to his Masters degree and to his leading role developing the Vineyard of the Future at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism, with support from Wine Australia’s Regional Program, which currently has 80 emerging varieties planted. All are clonal selected, DNA tested and virus tested and have been put in on their own roots to host a mother vine plantation. As a collection, it’s of international significance and value.

And Mike certainly puts his knowledge to good use in his own winery. Symphony Hill has won gold medals for 23 different varieties.

The chair of the ASVO’s judging committee for the award, Louisa Rose, said Mike’s dedication, curiosity and drive, combined with his generous spirit in wanting to give back and teach others, made him a clear winner of this year’s award. 

"Mike has achieved a lot and made many great wines for many people," she said. "What is less obvious to many is what he has given to others and his region, through sharing his knowledge, teaching and mentoring."

This hasn’t gone totally unnoticed in Queensland. In 2014 Mike was awarded Samuel Basset Award for the most significant contribution by a Queenslander to the wine sector.

^{This profile was first published on 8 December 2017}

Peter Leske’s childhood reads like an excerpt from a Boy’s Own Annual.

Growing up on campus at Roseworthy Agricultural College in Adelaide – where his father Ken Leske lectured in finance – Peter had pet sheep, "swam" in an old chaff bin, mucked around on the tractors, snacked on ripe sultana grapes and explored the campus’ many laboratories and classrooms with his trusty dog by his side.

"I guess I was what you would call a free-range kid. I was the last of five, so all the hard parent-training work had been done by my older siblings."

This freedom to learn and explore set him on a path of knowledge gathering that has been a constant throughout his career.

Initially, Peter wanted to be an electrical engineer, but a chance conversation towards the end of Year 12 planted the seed of winemaking.

"It had several attractions in my mind – it was country/ag-based and focused, it involved three years study instead of four, included chemistry, and was considered 'cool' by girls my age", Peter recalls.

After seven vintages with Grosset Wines and almost as many in France, Peter joined the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) as Manager of Technical Services. The position was effectively an extension and advisory role to the wine sector, and further instilled the power of collective knowledge and expertise in Peter.

"I learnt by observation that people could not achieve things without my help, and I could not achieve things without theirs. Working at the AWRI for five years was particularly instructive; there were many smart people with skills that I did not have (and vice versa) and if we did not work as a team we could not solve the problems that were brought to us.

"But being a hands-on winemaker is really no different. It takes a village to raise a child, as they say, and it takes a team to grow great grapes and make a good wine."

Today, Peter is a contract winemaker and makes wine for around 30 clients scattered throughout the Adelaide Hills, Barossa and McLaren Vale, and beyond, in his Revenir winery at Lenswood. He is also part owner of two boutique brands – La Linea and Vertigo – and is a sought-after wine judge.

After the devastating bushfires of 2019-20, which swept through parts of the Adelaide Hills wine region, Peter offered Revenir’s resources and expertise to provide small-lot winemaking services to growers and makers affected by smoke taint.

His team made dozens of "bucket ferments" on their behalf at no charge. He also managed the recruitment, training, organisation and coordination of a panel of generous and dedicated regional members to provide objective, specialised sensory analysis of these and other wines to determine whether or not fruit was smoke-affected. This was achieved with the valuable assistance of staff from the AWRI and the Adelaide Hills Wine Region.

As part of the longer-term learning effort, Peter collected samples of more than 100 of the wines tasted for subsequent analysis, which will allow the exploration of the relationship between grape, sensory, and wine analysis. Again, with the AWRI (and with support from Wine Australia and PIRSA) he also helped coordinate a large-scale project investigating the impact of early-season smoke exposure.

Peter hopes the projects will add to the understanding of the impact of fires in viticultural regions.

Peter said he was both surprised and honoured to have been named ASVO Winemaker of the Year for 2020.

"I have worked with so many talented people during my career who have given generously of their time, knowledge and skills. I hope I can follow their lead and continue to share my knowledge with those around me."

^{This profile was first published on 15 January 2021.}

When she’s not helping to build a more sustainable future for Australian wine, Anna Hooper is surfing off the coast of a remote wine region.

Once an award-winning winemaker, Anna is now a pillar of the wine community, working at sector level to support wine businesses nationally and grow our world-class wine scene. Passionate about conservation and experienced in biodynamic viticulture, she’s helping Australia’s wine community navigate a changing world.

Visiting her mum at work in a winery gave a young Anna a glimpse into the wine world – and she was hooked.

“The first time I walked into a winery, the industry was sold on me,” she says. “The vibe in the cellar and the smell of the ferments... It looked like it would be a really fun industry to be part of.”

Anna studied agricultural science majoring in oenology and became a winemaker, which gave her everything she wanted in a career. “I liked the idea of being outside, I liked science, I liked the creative aspect of it,” she says.

On South Australia’s Limestone Coast, she combined her winemaking talent with a passion for sustainable and biodynamic viticulture, crafting brilliant wines that really began in the vineyard. She was South Australia’s Rural Woman of the Year in 2013, inducted into the HerBusiness Hall of Fame in 2016 and named among the 2017 Young Gun of Wine Top 50 winemakers.

Anna managed an acclaimed winery, sat on boards and wine-show judging panels, worked in wine export and consulting, and travelled and worked all over the globe. And then she had bigger fish to fry.

Since early 2019, Anna has been Manager of Industry Policy at Australian Grape & Wine, the peak national grape and wine sector body. At a high level, Anna’s focus is on supporting profitable and sustainable Australian wine businesses, and promoting vibrant rural and regional communities.

“I really like the big picture stuff, and to me it feels really good to be working on behalf of the whole of the industry,” she says. “Every day is different in this industry, and I think that’s what I really like about it. There’s always a new challenge.”

Anna now spends most of her days at Australian Grape & Wine where she works with the team to promote a profitable and sustainable landscape for grape and wine producers. Anna also enjoys nature, is a strong advocate for sustainable wine production and a proud member of the Landcare Australia board. Outside of the office, she loves spending time by the ocean where she keeps her toes in the water with some small batch winemaking.

"Having spent the majority of my winemaking life on the Limestone Coast, I am now exploring some other more remote locations to make wine.

"Discovering the diversity of our wine regions is what makes Australian wine exciting, but it’s really the people in the industry who are prepared to push boundaries that inspire me the most."

For Dr Armando Corsi, wine is so much more than just the product itself.

"It is a social gatherer. It is the custodian of traditions. It is a time capsule of 365 days of sun, rain, snow, and wind."

It is that passion that drives Dr Corsi – Associate Professor in Wine Business at the University of Adelaide – to do all that he can to protect wine as a product and help it grow.

Dr Corsi’s key area of research is the analysis of consumer behaviour, particularly towards wine and other premium foods and beverages. He has led a number of projects examining the effects of non-price promotions in store, tracking the Chinese wine market, improving techniques to describe wines to Asian consumers, and exploring the most effective ways to teach them about wine.

More recently, Dr Corsi completed another two projects about the perceptions of Australian wines and its key competitors by trade, key influencers and suppliers in the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

"My job is to encourage and lead an environment of creativity and innovation, building capacity in wine business research and expertise across the University of Adelaide, and engaging with the broader academic, professional and industry community to support the sustainable growth of the wine sector."

Growing up, Dr Corsi was more interested in food and agriculture than he was in wine.

"I was born in the city of Macerata, located on the east coast of Italy between Rome and Florence. Like any good Italian boy, I was raised with bread and football (soccer), but my real passion was – and still is – basketball. I was also a boy scout from age 10 to age 25 but, as Lord Baden Powell said 'once a scout, always a scout!'"

With two of his uncles as winemakers, and his grandfather a farm manager, Dr Corsi started to learn about the world of wine from a young age. However, his dream was to work for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

"So I did a bachelor degree in Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florence and eventually began an internship at FAO. However, I found myself reading about wine and consumer psychology any spare moment I had. This made me realise that understanding more about the business of wine was really what I wanted to do in my life."

Dr Corsi did a three-point turn, instead completing his Masters in Wine Economics and later a PhD in wine marketing.

"In the first year of the PhD program I was lucky enough to be both a student and a chauffeur of Professor Larry Lockshin while he ran a series of seminars in Italy."

Dr Corsi later visited Professor Lockshin in Adelaide and ended up staying for six months. When a lecturing position came up at the University of South Australia, he applied for it and was successful. Dr Corsi went on to become a senior lecturer and then an Associate Professor and Associate Dean: Research Education until July 2020, when the University of Adelaide opened a position to lead the wine business area.

Leadership has been a key focus for Dr Corsi throughout his career. He graduated from Wine Australia’s Future Leaders program in 2019 and said what he had learnt during the program had been ‘lifechanging’ for him.

"It has helped me understand the importance of putting people at the centre of the goals you want to achieve", he said.

"Whether these people are your loved ones at home, your colleagues, your collaborators, or yourself, do everything you can to put them in the condition to thrive. Do that, and results will come."

^{This profile was first published on 12 March 2021.}

A new research project is investigating whether a single drop of grape juice or wine placed on a sensor can detect smoke taint.

The Wine Australia-supported Science and Innovation Award winner Dr Cheryl Suwen Law is using nanofabrication techniques to help winemakers and growers know when their grapes have been tainted by bushfire smoke – and to what extent.

"The aim of my project is to provide growers and winemakers with a tailored ‘lab-on-a-chip’ sensing technology for rapid detection and quantification of smoke exposure in grape, grape juice and wine", said Dr Suwen Law, a Research Associate with the University of Adelaide’s School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials.

Dr Suwen Law said the technology could be used early on in production, allowing timely decision-making around grape harvest and winemaking.

"Knowing earlier, rather than later, that fruit is tainted will give growers and winemakers a wider choice of options on how to proceed."

The benefit of this technology – which works by shining a beam of light through a drop of juice placed on a sensor – is the ability to provide results on the spot.

"These sensors will enable the sector to make more informed decisions during growing seasons affected by bushfires, delivering financial benefit to industry."

Dr Suwen Law is passionate about her field of chemical engineering and is looking forward to exploring it more as a Science and Innovation Award winner.

"Chemical engineering is diverse and far-reaching, focusing on the ways raw materials are changed into useful and commercial end products.

"I love researching raw materials and their properties as well as designing, developing and evaluating equipment and operating processes.

"This latest research project is exciting, because it advances our fundamental understanding on the sensing performance of photonic and plasmonic structures and applies that knowledge to a practical application."

^{This profile was first published on 12 April 2021.} 

Dr Christopher Davies was a couple of years into his working life before he discovered a life-changing passion for learning.

"To be honest, I didn’t like school. I hated the regimentation. But the 70s and 80s were a time of great social change and looking back, I had a good time living through them and made some great friends."

After leaving school, Dr Davies went to work for a Barossa wine company.

"I thought of doing the Roseworthy viticulture and oenology course, because I had an interest in wine, but I ended up taking a job as a laboratory technician at Waite Research Institute in Adelaide."

Dr Davies spent some happy years at Waite, working on plant viruses with Dr John Randles, who he describes as ‘a really kind man’. 

"I guess I’d always had an interest in plants. My early years were spent living on a farm near Reynella, in Adelaide’s south, and my parents and I were often in the garden. My mother was a great cook, so the kitchen was the hub of the house where we loitered."

"I guess I carried that interest into my adult life."

It was during his time at Waite that Dr Davies became interested in pursuing academic study.

"I’m not sure that I had a real plan, but I went from part-time study to fulltime study, then honours and finally a PhD in Biochemistry, still in the area of plant viruses."

"I loved botany and discovering things; the freedom of thinking about the natural world. And the Biochemistry department was alive and exciting – a great place to be."

It was during this period that Dr Davies’ daughter was born.

"After that there was no choice to make, it was just momentum."

Dr Davies scored a prized postdoctorate position at Sir David Baulcombe’s Sainsbury lab at the John Innes Institute in the United Kingdom, again studying plant viruses.

"We worked hard, but it was an exciting time. I loved living in the UK and made some close friends."

After his son was born, Dr Davies decided to return to Australia and take up a job with the CSIRO – focusing on tomatoes – based out of Sydney.

In 1993 he joined CSIRO in Adelaide and has worked on grapes ever since. 

Dr Davies has made valuable inroads into fruit development research – from the molecular processes involved in grape berry colour and flavour accumulation, to sugar metabolism, potassium transport and the control of ripening.

"When I started out studying grapes there were plenty of important aspects of berry development that were not at all well understood, especially considering the importance of grapes to the economy of Australia and internationally.

"But the grape and wine research communities have grown a lot and as a consequence we understand a lot more."

However, he says there still much to do.

"We have developed a much better understanding of how grape berry ripening is controlled and are using this to develop practical solutions in the vineyard, for example, developing methods to combat some effects of climate change by manipulating berry ripening."

Dr Davies is happy to keep chipping away at the research.

"I love the whole process of research. It can be very long-term and sometimes tedious, but when you discover things it is really exciting.

"It’s satisfying to have important puzzles to solve that you can mull over and chip away at. The thoughts and ideas tend to follow you around, waking you up in the middle of the night. It is a rather addictive process."

^{This profile was first published in August 2019.}

Dr Harley Smith is not your average scientist. Surfer. Skateboarder. Die-hard punk rock aficionado and member of 80s punk rock bank Several Fish.

Add to that a passion for maths and science – “and the mysteries of how things work at a cellular level” and you have what Dr Smith calls a "punk rock nerd."

Dr Smith grew up in Oakland, California, with his plant pathologist father, mother and three siblings.

“As a child, I really enjoyed playing outside, camping and going to the beach. After moving to Hawaii for a year in third grade, I discovered surfing and skateboarding and that became a passion.”

Like many scientists in the making, math and biology were Dr Smith’s favourite subject at high school. “What I really appreciated about math was that equations were used to solve problems and the solution was clear-cut answer. 

“Biology was also interesting, as there seemed to be so many mysteries about how things worked at the cellular level.”

Dr Smith spent his youth surfing Ocean Beach in San Francisco, skateboarding empty swimming pools with the East Bay Underground crew and listening to rock music.

And then he discovered punk music, and was “totally hooked.”

He spent most weekends seeking out punk rock shows in San Francisco and Berkeley with his brother Mark and high school friends. “I just loved the mayhem and the energy of the music and shows.” He joined a punk band at school called Kover Band, and the group played local parties and charity shows.

After graduating from high school, Harley moved to Santa Cruz, a surfing mecca of the Bay Area. 

He joined another punk band called Several Fish and the group played numerous local shows with bands such as BLAST!, D.I., Good Riddance and Mock. 

After working as a hod carrier for a number of brick masons, Dr Smith eventually enrolled at Cabrillo College where he re-discovered his passion for math and biology. 

“It was at this point that I decided to pursue a career as scientist or a teacher of science.”

Dr Smith says he’s grateful for the support he received from his family and friends to pursue a career in science, “as it wasn’t very punk to be a scientist at the time!”

He recalls how he would quote Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein in between songs at punk shows with Several Fish, which created some confusion among the hardcore punkers. 

“At this time and up to the present day, Milo Aukerman, the vocalist of the Descendents – who went to University and earned a PhD in biochemistry – has been an inspiration to me. He really forged a path for punk rock nerds like me to express their passion for science.” 

In 2012, Dr Smith moved to Adelaide to take up the role of Team Leader of CSIRO’s Rootstock Breeding Team.

While he still loves surfing and punk rock, these days it’s entwined with his passion for developing ‘next generation’ grapevine rootstocks.

“One of the major challenges for the Australian wine grape industry is that the current set of commercial rootstocks available lack genetic diversity and durable resistance to grape phylloxera and root knot nematode,” he said.

The aim of the Rootstock Breeding Team is to deliver next generation rootstocks with durable resistance to grape phylloxera and root knot nematode using DNA marker-assisted selection. 

“We’re also working at developing rootstocks aimed at increasing vineyard performance in a changing climate.”

^{This profile was first published on 21 January 2022.}

In a world where time is a luxury, wine has the ability to bring family and friends together and inspire connectedness.

It’s a fact not lost on Inca Lee, who says it’s one of the reasons the wine sector inspires her on a daily basis.

"We are creating wines and experiences that bring people together. Right across the supply chain there are opportunities to create, craft, explore and innovate – and that’s exciting", said Inca, who was named Researcher/Innovator of the Year 2019 at the Australian Women in Wine Awards, held in September in New York.

Inca grew up in the Adelaide Hills and, with her father at the helm of the Australian Wine Research Institute, there was always talk of wine, innovation, growth and research at the dinner table.

Inca graduated from university with a Masters of Viticulture in 1996 and went on to a successful career with Orlando Wines and later Pernod Ricard Winemakers. Inca’s roles covered viticulture, research and development and communications.

In early 2015, the then Phylloxera Board, now Vinehealth Australia, approached Inca to do some project work. By early 2016, she was running the organisation.

In the three years since taking the reins, Inca has ramped up projects that deliver practical solutions to growers, and is producing a raft of tools to help growers understand and implement biosecurity.

As an island nation, Inca said, Australia’s borders are challenged on a daily basis by exotic plant and animal pests and diseases.

"Our challenge is to provide growers and winemakers with innovative and sustainable ways to protect their vines – and their brands – from the devastating impacts of a biosecurity shock. It’s a huge ask, but I think with greater awareness we are making progress", she said.

Inca said Vinehealth Australia was acutely focused on three things: preventing exotic pests from entering vineyards in Australia; containing phylloxera to current infested areas in Australia; and preparing grape and wine businesses for the potential of a biosecurity shock.

"Being prepared is critical, because if there was an incursion of an exotic or significant endemic pest or disease growers can minimise the economic and social impact to their business and community."

"But to do that, we need to build resilience into the grape and wine supply chain", Inca said.

Adopting simple farm-gate hygiene practices was an important first step in the process.

Inca said her message to growers and winemakers about the challenges of a biosecurity shock was simple: "Be engaged and act now – become informed as to the risks and how to protect your vines, wines, businesses and regional communities."

"Don’t think 'it won’t happen' or 'it will happen in a different region or vineyard'. We need to shift this dynamic and realise that being biosecure is a great competitive advantage for Australia – it is an enabler for sustained prosperity."

^{This profile was first published on 11 October 2019.}

Joseph Marks calls himself "an ecologist with a passion for wine."

So his current project – investigating how under-vine cover crops affect arbuscular mycorrhizal associations, soil organic carbon composition and soil carbon stocks – is a marriage made in heaven.

Joseph is the inaugural recipient of the Dr Tony Jordan OAM Award in 2020, which recognised the most outstanding applicant in Wine Australia PhD and Masters by Research Scholarships.

Joseph said growers were increasingly looking at more sustainable options to manage their soil and vines, while at the same time decreasing the overall reliance on herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers.

"One such method is to plant cover crops in the vineyard. Planting in the mid-row has been tested many times, however, not a lot of testing has been conducted on cover crops planted directly beneath the grapevines themselves – this is what we’re looking at."

Joseph said cover crops are non-consumable plants that offer multiple benefits to the soil and therefore, the grapevines.

"My project looks to test a few of these potential benefits on vineyard soil from underneath seven different treatments: five types of cover crop and a straw mulch against a traditional herbicide-managed bare-earth treatment (the control).

"Essentially, I want to know if these cover crops increase the amount of beneficial fungi in the soil", said Joseph.

"Certain fungi (known as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) interact with plant roots in a very positive way – increasing their ability to find nutrients in the soil. Having tested this hypothesis, we found that the potential for plant roots to form these beneficial associations with the fungi was high in all treatments – a win for both cover crops and the traditional practice."

As always, however, Joseph said further testing was needed to answer the question more definitively.

"At the moment I’m looking closely at how cover crops affect the organic carbon levels in the soil. This is extremely important for soil health as organic carbon helps to provide structure to the soil, as well as many other benefits.

"Moreover, soil is a great storage for atmospheric carbon, which is fantastic news for the climate.

"My hypothesis is that more plant cover will increase the amount of carbon in the soil because if we have more plants photosynthesising then we will also have more carbon being drawn from the atmosphere down into the roots and soil."

Joseph said testing on this was the next focus of his research, and would begin soon.

"Cover crops appear to reduce the need for herbicide and fertiliser use, which is beneficial for growers in terms of cost-reduction and also allowing the vineyard to become a more natural ecosystem.

"Increasing soil organic carbon is also hugely beneficial to growers as it not only increases soil health and the long-term sustainability of the vineyard but also helps the environment by drawing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil."

^{This profile was first published on 9 October 2020.}

Economist Kym Anderson was working in Geneva when his mind got to thinking about his Adelaide Hills farm – and his plans to plant a vineyard.

It was the 1990s and Emeritus Professor Anderson was working on global trade issues with the World Trade Organization. At the same time, Australia was embarking on an export-led wine sector boom.

“As part of my due diligence for planting a vineyard I explored Australia’s four past wine sector booms – and subsequent plateaus – over the previous two centuries,” Prof Anderson recalls.

“Since the fifth boom was clearly export driven, that encouraged me to look at how global wine markets had been developing.”

Prof Anderson went on to plant his vineyard – and then continue his research into the economics of the wine sector, writing two books on wine’s globalisation and compiling statistical compendia on global wine markets since 1860; on the Australian wine sector’s growth and cycles since 1843; and on what winegrape varieties have been grown in the world’s wine regions since 1990.

Born in the town of Naracoorte, near South Australia’s famed Coonawarra wine region, Prof Anderson says economics was never really on his radar until an opportunity came up in his final year of schooling to apply for a cadetship in agricultural economics. 

He won the cadetship and moved to Armidale, NSW, to undertake a four-year Bachelor of Agricultural Economics degree at the University of New England – “a wonderful learning environment, with perhaps the best agricultural economics department in the southern hemisphere at the time (late 1960s).”

As part of his cadetship, he then returned to South Australia to work for the South Australian Department of Agriculture (now PIRSA) for three years.

“That experience gave me good exposure to the South Australian agricultural sector – including the wine sector, as my classmate and then work colleague, Stephen George, was doing some research on the wine sales tax issue before he left to become a winemaker (ultimately establishing Ashton Hills Vineyard).”

Prof Anderson then went to the United States of America to undertake a doctorate in international and development economics at the University of Chicago and Stanford University; before returning to spend six years as a research fellow in economics at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra.

In 1984 he returned to Adelaide to take up a lecturing position, and in 1989 he became foundation Executive Director of the Centre for International Economic Studies at the University of Adelaide. In the mid-2000s, Prof Anderson took a three-year sabbatical to become Lead Economist (Trade Policy) at the World Bank in Washington DC. Today, he is the George Gollin Professor Emeritus in Adelaide’s School of Economics and Public Policy, and foundation Executive Director of its Wine Economics Research Centre.

Prof Anderson’s recent research has focused on empirical analysis of the Doha Development Agenda of the World Trade Organization; global distortions to agricultural incentives; the economics of agricultural biotechnology (GMO) policies globally; and wine globalisation. He has published more than 40 books and 400 journal articles and chapters in other books. Three of his books received prizes from the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) for the world’s best wine books, in 2014 and 2018.

In 2015, Prof Anderson was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for his contribution to economics and the wine sector. 

Prof Anderson still lives on his beloved Adelaide Hills farm – and continues to enjoy researching the economics of wine in between focusing on global trade issues and chairing international agricultural research institutes.

“It’s always a joy to come home to a good Australian wine, particularly a Shiraz or Pinot Noir,” he said.

^{This profile was first published on 25 March 2022.}

For as long as he can remember, Vaughn Bell has been fascinated with plants – their form, their colour and their structure.

But life works in strange ways, and instead of following his passion of studying botany and plant ecology straight from college, 18-year-old Vaughn was fast-tracked into the ANZ Bank in Wellington, New Zealand, as a junior. 

A diligent Vaughn worked his way through the ranks over the next 17 years, ending up as lending manager at 35 years of age.

But when a redundancy package was offered, Vaughn bit the bullet and took it – starting a new chapter in his life and career by enrolling in the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), where he completed Bachelor of Science and Master of Science (MSc) degrees.

Vaughn then worked with HortResearch which later became Plant and Food Research (PFR), a New Zealand Crown Research Institute, and was encouraged to continue his study; completed a Ph.D. in 2009 at VUW. 

“As I periodically reflect on my career to date, I am forever grateful that I not only had the opportunity to use my university qualifications in my chosen field, but that I was supported by PFR to undertake a PhD,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn is the lead on the development of the grape and wine sector’s Grapevine leafroll disease and Shiraz disease: interim recommendations for management in Australian vineyards, funded by Wine Australia.

The project aimed to develop a practical ‘how to’ guide for vineyard owners and their staff to detect and manage the three viral pathogens of economic importance in Australia – grapevine leafroll-associated virus 1 (GLRaV-1), GLRaV-3, and GVA, which causes Shiraz Disease.

Vaughn says his love of the biological sciences is rooted in the opportunity for continued learning. 

“That said, if I had been asked at the start of university where I thought I would end up, I would’ve suggested a career working with our indigenous plants, perhaps working alongside our much cherished Department of Conservation.

“That I ended up working in the wine sector studying an insect group (mealybugs) transmitting an economically important virus (grapevine leafroll disease), was never contemplated. Never!”

He says that fate – and two key mentors along the way (Drs Rod Bonfiglioli and Jim Walker) – led him to where he is today. 

“It was never envisaged, but it certainly isn’t regretted,” says Vaughn.

Vaughn says there is a lot to love about science. 

“I have worked with some amazing people – passionate, quirky, talented, and inspirational. I have also had the absolute privilege of working closely with the New Zealand wine sector for the past 18 years. For me, the greatest appeal has been the opportunity to interact with growers in a way that has allowed me to get to know them and to really understand the issues they face.

“To undertake research is wonderful, but to do so in a way that has potential to offer others knowledge, understanding, and (hopefully) a meaningful resolution to problems, is special and something I have never taken for granted.”

^{This profile was first published on 11 November 2022.}