The Winemaker

Barry Kooij "I first got the wine bug while at University in New Zealand studying engineering. I had a housemate who worked in a bottle shop and brought home lots of free wine! I also joined the university wine club and got a part time job selling wine in supermarkets. At the same time the NZ wine industry was growing at a phenomenal rate and there was a lot of hype around the whole industry. Being a winemaker seemed a lot more appealing to me than being an engineer. So, after finishing my engineering degree I completed a viticulture and oenology post graduate diploma. From there I worked vintages in many regions across Australia as well as two vintages in California. This gave me a lot of experience in the many different grape varieties, wine styles and winemaking techniques used around the world."