Wine Maker

We want to take you behind the scenes to meet our new chief winemaker, Sam Kurtz.

Sam is a born and raised 7th generation Barossan, with every generation before him being involved in either grape growing or wine making. Sam began his professional work as a qualified winemaker in 1992, though he does note the very first wine he made was as an amateur back in 1988. Sam has been a part of 36 vintages, with his career taking him overseas to work in the USA, Hungary, and Spain.

Sam’s career has seen him work with fruit and wine from a diverse range of climates from most wine regions of Australia, and has consulted on winemaking projects in Georgia, China, India, Argentina, and New Zealand.

Sam’s expansive career has been driven by his passion and love of both science, art, history, geography, and creativity. Sam came on board at Chateau Yaldara in early June this year. He says working in a new winery with vineyards he hasn’t worked with before is always an exciting learning experience. With the upcoming vintage, our 1928 Grenache single vineyard is one he is particularly excited to work amongst.

We are thrilled to have him on board and are looking forward to seeing what he has in store!