Press Release – Thursday, June 14th, 2012
GWE’s Australian Winemakers | Same Faces, Different Places
Goelet Wine Estates (GWE), the umbrella company for both Taltarni Vineyards and Clover Hill here in Australia, has recently undergone an exciting new restructure to better utilise its existing wine-making talent for the betterment of all its key stakeholders.
With the departure of much-loved chief operating officer and chief winemaker Loïc Le Calvez, former senior winemaker Karina Dambergs and former winemaker Robert Heywood are enthusiastically taking the wine-making reins.
Karina Dambergs, in her new role as Clover Hill Operations Manager and Group Sparkling Winemaker, has relocated permanently down to Clover Hill and, with a passion for both sparkling wine and Tasmania, finally feels like she’s “home”.
“The thing that excites me the most,” says Dambergs, “is getting to make a portfolio of sparkling wines from fruit planted and grown exclusively for that purpose. I’m also excited to try and help push the reputation of Tasmanian sparkling wine. I think it has the potential to be a world-class wine style as Tasmania becomes more renowned as a premier cool-climate region.”
The fruit from Tea Tree, GWE’s new Southern Tasmanian-based vineyard in the Coal Valley, provides Dambergs with the opportunity to blend regions to make wines that truly express Tasmania, while also showcasing single-vineyard wines from two very different Tasmanian micro-climates. “With 14 years experience making sparkling base, we have no doubt she’ll do justice to both as well as Taltarni’s flagship sparklings,” says CEO Adam Torpy.
Having already given a sparkling master class at this year’s ICCS in Hobart, Karina will now be on location to represent Clover Hill at Wine Tasmania and Tamar Valley Wine Route events.
Back at Taltarni Vineyards, the wine-making talents of Robert Heywood will be focussed on Taltarni’s pedigree reds in his new role as Taltarni’s Senior Winemaker. With an interest and an aptitude for making still reds, in particular Shiraz and Cabernet, Robert is in his element. Having been actively involved in the direction of Taltarni’s still wines for a few years now, the 2009 Estate Shiraz and Cabernet in particular are an early indication of what we can look forward to with Robert at the helm.
“One of the things I love about making reds,” says Heywood, “is seeing the potential in the wine you have in your glass post-vintage and being tasked with realising it two or three years down the track. Seeing the wine grow and improve with age while knowing that it’s a reflection of the hard work of all those people involved in creating it is really fulfilling.
“My goal is to continue to reward Taltarni’s existing loyal customer base with beautiful cellar-worthy reds, while making more approachable innovative wines for a whole new generation of Taltarni consumers to enjoy. Knowing the potential of this vineyard, it is a great honour to be tasked with realising it.”
Robert is looking forward to meeting and greeting the media and the trade at a number of upcoming Taltarni events, both here and overseas.
- To view excerpts from Loïc Le Calvez’s Farewell Tribute Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6J29KtUiLc
- For more information on Karina Dambergs: http://www.taltarni.com.au/karina-dambergs
- For more information on Robert Heywood: http://www.taltarni.com.au/robert-heywood
- To download high-res images of the winemakers: http://www.taltarni.com.au/media-downloads.aspx
For more information, please contact Rosemary Shisler
Marketing Manager Australia/Asia, Goelet Wine Estates rshisler@goeletwineestates.com | 0437 394 637