2023 Outbound Knowledge Exchange bursary program
The 2023 Outbound Knowledge Exchange bursary program is giving 9 wine industry professionals the opportunity to travel to one or more Great Wine Capitals of the World to build their knowledge and skills.
Originally, only three bursaries were planned, but due to the high standard and volume of applications, additional funding was granted to expand the number to nine.
Each recipient will receive a bursary of $6,000 for travel between September 2023 and February 2024.
During their travels, bursary recipients will meet with key industry, regional and education stakeholders to share their experience, expertise, and energy as well as learn about practices and operations in their chosen field.
When they return, participants will share their experience and learnings at regional and industry events, helping to build capability within their area of interest and maximising the benefit to our wine industry.
Program participants
Thomas Bartholomaeus, Torbreck Vintners (Barossa)
Thomas is a sixth generation grape grower from the Barossa Valley. As technical viticulturist for world-renowned Torbreck Vintners, as well as custodian of his family property in the Barossa, Thomas has introduced soft pruning methods to their current vineyard management practices.
Championed by the Barossa in a program dating back to 2017, soft pruning aims to promote vine health in old vines through less invasive pruning techniques. Thomas will travel to Verona, Italy where he will observe the technique in much older vines.
Caitlin Davies, Jericho Wines (Adelaide Hills/McLaren Vale)
As marketing manager at Jericho Wines and a member of the Executive Board of the Adelaide Hills wine region, Caitlin is one of the next crop of future leaders in the wine sector.
Her travels will take her to Mendoza, Argentina where she will explore the premium positioning of the Malbec grape variety in the region, and how that success can be adopted in the Adelaide Hills where Chardonnay is the hero variety.
Shirley Fraser, Sorby Adams Wines (Barossa)
Drawing on her 25 years’ experience in the wine sector, Shirley drives sales at Barossa-based Sorby Adams Wines. She is also passionate about diversity and equality in the wine sector, holding an advisory position at Australian Women in Wine.
Shirley will attend the International Women in Wine Conference in Portugal in 2024 to engage with women from across the wine sector and work towards creating solutions to the challenges facing women in the wine workplace. Shirley will then use this experience to drive awareness and change through her considerable network and platform base.
Yanina Giordano, University of Adelaide (Adelaide)
Yanina is undertaking research to develop innovative solutions for controlling Brettanomyces spoilage in wine, which has the potential to have a significant commercial impact on wine production.
Her travels will take her to Rioja, Spain in November, where she will present at the International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Science. Following that engagement she will then travel to Verona, Italy where she will collaborate with the University and present research to winemaking students in that region. This work will then be presented at relevant industry technical forums in Adelaide and will contribute to ongoing collaborations with industry, the University of Adelaide and the Australian Wine Research Institute.
Tony Hoare, Beach Road Wines (McLaren Vale)
Tony Hoare is an independent viticulturist based in McLaren Vale, running a vineyard advisory service and field grafting business. He also operates Beach Road Wines – a Best Of Wine Tourism Award winner - with wife and winemaker Briony.
Tony plans to travel to San Francisco/Napa Valley, USA to observe irrigation practices and technology being used to irrigate winegrapes in a desert climate with scarce and expensive water resources. This includes meeting with University of California researchers to share strategies and technologies for water use conservation and winegrape productivity, and learning more about the successful Lodi Rules Sustainable Winegrowing Program’s guidelines for water conservation.
Marcell Kustos, Marcell Kustos Wine Concierge (Adelaide)
With a background in winemaking and sensory evaluation, Dr Marcell Kustos runs a consulting business helping wineries and restaurants deliver memorable experiences. He completed a PhD in wine sensory marketing at the University of Adelaide in collaboration with Wine Australia and UC Davis.
He will travel to Porto, Portugal and Cape Town/Cape Winelands, South Africa to study winery cellar door experiences and destination development. In both Great Wine Capitals, he plans to visit Best Of Wine Tourism Award winners, wineries featured on the World’s Best 50 Vineyards list, and several artisanal wineries. He hopes to gain an insight into blending cultural and historical narratives with innovative wine experiences, enhancing visitor engagement and fostering a sense of place in Old World and New World wine regions.
Charles Matheson, Riverland Wine (Riverland)
Charles will travel to Cape Town/Cape Winelands, South Africa and San Francisco/Napa Valley, USA to study sustainability in viticulture and the impact on market access. The trip will support Charles to better drive sustainability accreditation in the Riverland.
He will also study the success of the Swartland region in transitioning from being a commercial growing region to ‘cool, and on trend’ globally for unique and interesting wine production. This will be useful for informing the Riverland Blueprint.
Syuzanna Mosikyan, University of Adelaide (Adelaide)
Syuzanna’s research is aimed at understanding how to improve consumer acceptance of alternative and gene-edited grape varieties, which will support the Australian wine industry to adapt to a rapidly-changing environment.
She plans to visit Bordeaux in France, Mainz in Germany and Verona in Italy to engage with research collaborators, wineries, industry stakeholders and decision makers who are driving climate change adaptation solutions and focussing on novel varieties.
When she returns she hopes to share her findings through industry journals and a presentation at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show in 2024.
Ashley Ratcliff, Ricca Terra Wines (Riverland)
Ashley established Ricca Terra in 2003 in the Riverland. He has had success planting climate suitable Mediterranean varieties in the Riverland, which have driven his wine style and supported diversity in the region.
Ashley will travel to San Francisco/Napa Valley, USA to explore technology and novel solutions to enhance sustainability during drought and extreme heat. These include irrigation precision, mulch and ground cover, rootstocks, and market awareness and buyer behaviour toward sustainable viticulture. He will also visit UC Davis to explore rootstock adaptability trials.
The objective of his visit is to establish stronger industry-led collaboration between the Napa Valley and South Australia.
