Article: The next-gen winemakers blazing a trail - Wine Companion
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Here, we spotlight a mix of faces to look out for in the future of the Australian wine industry.
It’s not an uncommon story. Many winemakers come to wine via their family ties. There are the historic, multigenerational brands such as Henschke, Brown Brothers, Tyrrell’s and Tahbilk, but what about the hundreds of newer Australian labels with offspring getting involved? This fresh blood pulsates through local wine regions and pushes them forward. Meet the future of the Australian wine industry ahead.
Greer Carland, Tasmania
Label: Laurel Bank/Quiet Mutiny
Parents: Laurel and Kerry Carland of Laurel Bank
Greer Carland grew up “pruning vines and driving the tractor in Dad’s vineyard”. She was always impressed by what she calls the “alchemistic process” in the winery and was strong in science and art at school (a blend of skills that producers often point to as crucial for making wine), but a winemaking career wasn’t necessarily clear to her in those early years. Later in life, Greer studied oenology at the University of Adelaide before completing her rite of passage and chasing vintage around the globe – Chile, Oregon and Burgundy were some of the places she landed. In 2004, Greer settled into a senior position with Winemaking Tasmania, heading up its sparkling wine production as well as working with the team on some award-winning table wines. More recently, Greer took the plunge and started a label of her own, Quiet Mutiny, which she runs while making the wines alongside her viticulturist father Kerry (pictured above left with Greer on the right) at Laurel Bank. Her work has collected a number of coups, including several trophies for a riesling that James Halliday describes as having “the type of acidity that only Tasmania achieves, and then only by winemakers with an unerring eye for detail”.