6 minute read
The Fabulous Five
Fabulous The Five
WINEMAKING IS A PURSUIT THAT DRAWS ITS PARTICIPANTS FROM MANY AND VARIED SOURCES.
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There are those who come into the world slippery and screaming with one tiny foot already on the path to a winemaking career.
There are those who come from not entirely dissimilar fields, more agricultural than viticultural, who over a period of time learn the simple truth that winemaking can be a lot more fun than shovelling out what livestock leave behind.
And then there are those who are transformed by their exposure to wine and quickly realise the grape has them in its clutches and all thoughts of alternative careers evaporate faster than a splash of fino hitting sunbaked streets.
We spoke to five outstanding winemakers, all under the age of 40, about their pathways to their current roles.
WORDS NICK RYAN
Michael Downer, winemaker at Murdoch Hill
Tom Barry, third generation winemaker at Jim Barry Wines
Tom Barry and Simon Killen come from the genetically guided camp.
Both are the sons of winemakers and knew their way around vineyards before they could even reach high enough to steal a few ripe berries.
Anita Goode and Michael Downer were generational farm kids, she at Mt Benson on South Australia’s Limestone Coast and he at Oakbank in the Adelaide Hills, who watched parents plant vineyards as part of diversifying the family property. And Stephanie Dutton had plans to be a geneticist before part-time jobs working the floor in some great Melbourne restaurants introduced her to the pleasures of wine and inspired her to pack her bags and enrol in a Masters of Oenology in Adelaide.
They have travelled to different routes, but all find themselves now at the same point. As winemakers with a firm grasp on their craft and a strong vision for where they want that to take them.
As the grandson of the legendary Jim Barry, and the son of the gregarious Peter, Tom Barry grew up in a house energised by the permanent parade of wine people enjoying the conviviality for which this industry is famous and at which the Barry’s excel.
For Simon Killeen it’s a sensory memory that remains crystal clear - the smell of fermenting muscadelle in his father Chris’ winery that he fell in love with at five years old.
Michael Downer’s earliest vinous memory is tasting the first crop of sauvignon blanc from the vineyard his family had just planted, never really imagining then that twenty years later this vineyard would be at the heart of the impressive line-up of wines he makes under the Murdoch Hill label.
Anita Goode is another who harks back to a sensory memory when recalling her earliest memories of wine. “I would be hanging out in the Bleasdale Cellar Door while Dad stopped for a break because the car had ‘hiccups’ on our way to our Victor Harbour holidays as kids,“ says Goode, who has used the vineyard planted on the family property, Wangolina, to create an
Anita Goode, winemaker at Wangolina Station impressive wine label of the same name.
“That place had a really cool ‘cellar’ smell about it and I fell in love. It was only years later that I realised the car breaking down in Langhorne Creek every time wasn’t just an incredible coincidence.”
Mentorship, guidance and inspiration are priceless commodities in the early days of a winemaking career.
Stephanie Dutton found hers in the Barossa when she joined the winemaking team at Penfolds and began working with veteran red winemaker Steve Lienert.
“He reminds me of the long-term thinking required in this industry,” Stephanie says. “So often people in any industry fall victim to short-term thinking. Chasing short-term dividends is not always the answer.”
Working his first vintage at Cape Mentelle put Michael Downer under the guidance of someone whose influence still guides him.
“It was Rob Mann’s first as Chief Winemaker. I learnt a lot from his attention to detail and to see him make some big changes for his first vintage as head winemaker was eye opening. It showed me how different winemakers could
be in their expression and techniques, one not necessarily better than the other, just different.
Tom Barry takes inspiration from his father Peter, just as he had from his own old man, Jim. “Dad’s always supported my ideas and is happy for me to give anything a crack in terms of styles, trials or investing in technology that will allow us to make better wine. He knows that I respect the company that he and Mum have built and that I will make sensible decisions in terms of wine style and quality.”
Despite his father Chris’ premature passing, Simon Killeen knows his influence still informs just about everything he does in his own career.
“When I was a kid, I idolised him and followed him around everywhere. In the last two years, I’ve missed him the most and wished he was around so I could bounce things off him about style, technique and all those one percenters that I wish he could pass on.”
Having made a few mistakes in the early days - there are tales of over-sulfured wines, sucked in tanks and blown out pumps among this lot - all are now well established in their careers, have significant runs on the board, a slew of impressive wines behind them and even more to come.
So where do they see Australian wine in ten years time?
“There has been a huge shift in the last ten years for more expressive wines that showcase place, have vibrancy and drinkability. I think this demand will continue and evolve looking for more texture and savoury profiles,” says Downer.
For Stephanie Dutton, it’s all about the top end. “The mission to premiumise the industry to assist our reputation globally continues and I feel will really pay dividends within the next decade.”
“I can see us making more textural, complex and more food friendly styles; wines that speak of their regions and their vignerons, wines with personality,” says Goode.
“Wines that express the uniqueness of our regions,” define the future, Tom Barry forsees. “Wines that can come from nowhere else but Australia.”
Killeen is typically forthright in his prediction for the future. “Currently, some of the most dreadful, insipid bottles of swill are gaining unwarranted attention. I hope that in ten year’s time common sense prevails and that all the good wine; all the great, solid booze of the industry regains its place atop the pedestal.”
Whatever the future of Australian wine may hold, one thing is certain. This talented group will go a long way towards shaping it.
Simon Killeen, a fourth generation winemaker and owner of Simão and Co. Wines
