Wine Decoded

I was a toddler when I had my first glass of wine (all be it a generous gift of a partygoer who left some fizz on my highchair). Just 17 when I commenced studying winemaking in Adelaide.

Throughout the years I have had the pleasure of working with some of the most passionate, knowledgable people in the industry. Steve Webber from DeBortoli along with Dave Bicknell, now the madman in charge of Oakridge were there for my first vintage, Bailey Carrodus, my 2nd, 10th-12th vintages, Tom Carson for my 5th-9th, Alex Moreau for a fun stint in Chassagne-Montrachet in the middle and many more.

How the Bathtub Winemaking Project Started

During a break from the industry, I never found myself far from Wine, after joking for so long telling people, winemaking’s easy (…good winemaking is another matter), you can do it in a bucket or bathtub, Fonz ‘Instigator of Mischief’, finally pushed me to put some grapes where my mouth was.

After walking thousands of kilometers of vineyard, cleaning hundreds of kilometers of drains and making millions of liters of wines for others it was time to make some vino for myself.

Naturally, as is often the case in the Wine Industry, with a last minute rush, we pulled off the very first ‘Bathtub’ Winemaking Project in 2015 with a Yarra Valley Cabernet following up with the 2016 and 2017 Yarra Valley Shiraz.

Explore the growing and making of all of the Wine Decoded wines in our 🎥 films & articles in the Wine Bites Mag!