As a child I spent my early years living on a vineyard in South Australia, growing shiraz grapes for what is now Constellation Wines, the biggest wine company in the world.

I remember those years, running through the vineyard, the family's pet black Labrador dog who ate the low hanging fruit when ripe, the old Fordson tractor, and the back breaking work that was hand picking. I still have keepsakes from that simpler life. The wooden "dip stick" for measuring how much fuel was in the old tractor, a picking "dip tin", and an "Areometre" for measuring the ripeness of the fruit (Baume), which was only marginally more accurate than the sweet tooth of the dog.

To complete my education I moved with my family to the "big smoke",  Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, a city of just one million people. I spent my formative years working in various licensed establishments whilst pursuing tertiary qualifications, eventually finding myself wholesaling wine to the retail and restaurant trade.

This experience led to my role as sales and marketing manager of a 3,000 tonne winery in need of some attention where I worked hand in glove with a small but experienced winemaking team gaining the insight and experience necessary to launch my own label.