Wine conversation can take such exalted highs. And this one with Stuart Rusted from Penfold Wineries who was in the city for the The Fine Wine Affair at The Oberoi, with La Cave, goes back to the grape escapade and gets things into perspective.
The investment banker turned wine connoisseur shares his story. “I had always been interested in wine, and after spending a decade in banking, I decided to make a change and do something I was passionate about, and that was tangible! Once I found that Adelaide University offered one of the best winemaking courses in the world, it all seemed to fall into place as I wanted to move to Australia!” explains Rusted.
The London born wineologist recalls says, “London has always been a world centre for wine trade and we are very spoilt there for the range of wines.” Rusted was selected as one of 50 international winemakers to take part in the Ningxia Wine Challenge running in China from September 2015 to September 2017 and he feels it was a great opportunity to see the growth of the wine industry in northern China, and a chance to meet winemakers from around the world.
“For the challenge itself, we were each partnered with a local winery, and assigned a 3 hectare block of vineyard. Once we picked the grapes, we were free to make wine as we saw best, and my 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is maturing in the winery in Yinchuan, with a plan to bottle it soon.”
The study of wine, oenology at the University of Adelaide was where he flourished. “Many of Australia’s most iconic wine regions are within Adelaide. Winemaking itself is a unique mix of science and the senses, and the course reflected that. The subjects were a great mix of biology, chemistry, wine tasting and winemaking which help to give a great understanding of the process,” adds Stuart.
Of the wine regions, Stuart has fond memories of McLaren Vale and Wolf Blass, “The energy and hectic pace of the harvest is great fun (although very tiring!). I learnt so much from the winemakers. As part of the final year of the course, every student spends 12 weeks full-time at a winery during harvest. I was fortunate enough to join Wolf Blass for my harvest placement. It’s an incredibly talented winemaking team, with a great winery and vineyards across South Australia. It’s also where I started to understand and fall in love with white wines.”
In the city for the wine affair, he revelled in how wine stories came to life. The keen sportman was a rugby player, and now, it’s running, cycling and swimming! To novices, he advices, “Wine is really about enjoyment — if you enjoy a wine then it’s a great wine, there is no point in struggling through a glass that someone tells you is ‘great’ if you don’t enjoy it.”
