Meet the Makers – Alex MacKenzie, Saltram Part 1

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We discover how a 16-year-old Melbourne schoolboy’s student exchange to a small family farmstead in Beaujolais inspired a remarkable 25 vintage career in viticulture and winemaking. Maybe it had something to do with the 5-course school canteen lunches and Champagne!

WD: Thanks for taking the time to speak with WineDown, Alex.

AM: It’s a pleasure! I’ve read quite a few WD articles. They are well written and informative, and the chit-chat with the winemakers makes them a good read!

*little does he know I am not the usual WD muse (gulp!)

WD: How on earth does a 16-year-old boy find himself on exchange to one of the world’s most revered wine regions – Beaujolais? Did they have to drag you kicking and screaming?!

AM: I credit my brother. He had a lot of ‘savoir-faire’. He opened my eyes and put me on the journey of France being the kingdom of doing things stylishly.

My dad was a Wool Broker, so we moved around a lot. At 16, we moved from Melbourne to Auckland, and honestly, I didn’t really love it. Improving my French in France seemed like a much better idea!

Due to my French (or lack thereof), I went to the local school and studied with younger kids. I hung out with my exchange brother and played soccer; he was my age. It was a bit different from Melbourne, you know… Early morning breakfasts were sipping coffee and munching on a croissant. And it was five-course meals for lunchtime and dinner. As a growing Australian boy, I was like – this is incredible, hot food for lunch, and a choice of cheeses to finish on!

I was in my element. There were always weekend celebrations, Saturday lunches with a sip of Beaujolais, weddings, or the like. I was allowed a glass of Champagne at special events. I thought… this is life! The French lifestyle sparked an appreciation for food and wine; I guess that’s where it began.

My love of food got me a nickname, though… at school, they called me ‘La poubelle’, the French term for ‘rubbish bin’; I was a hungry 16-year-old and didn’t like waste.

When I returned to New Zealand, I took a 6-month hiatus (before returning to school). I got a job in a local café and worked as a kitchen hand, and part of my role was to taste the oysters before they were served. Fortunately, I never tasted a dud!

WD: Tough job! Did you have a mentor that passed on and shared the history and mysteries of wine?

AM: No, not really, just a little bit of exposure and then floating along not knowing what I wanted to do for a bit - but I always worked in hospitality.

After secondary school, I saved and decided to travel. My first stop was Malaysia, then Thailand and I worked in India for a while. Then on to Nepal and Greece, and then I hitchhiked through Turkey. Egypt beckoned, closely followed by Italy, France, the UK, Denmark, Germany and Spain. All before tuning 20. Travelling solo was great, as I met so many people. Then it was back to Australia, broke and malnourished, so I returned to hospitality.

I was interested in wine but didn’t know a lot. Working in restaurants, pubs, clubs and jazz bars, my knowledge started to build. The lifestyle began to wear thin, so I decided it was time to move on. It led me to a Degree in Agriculture, majoring in Viticulture, so I moved to Adelaide to study at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus.

I felt comfortable in Adelaide; it was my second home. My grandparents came from the Clare Valley. Mum was brought up on a farm near Auburn, so we visited SA often.

I completed four years of Viticulture and headed off to the Rhône Valley for a vintage as a ‘stagiaire’- working as a cellar hand. The vineyards were biodynamic – it was an amazing experience. I worked for premium producer Maison Chapoutier, which owned world-renowned vineyards that spanned from the North to the South of the Rhône. We started ‘vendage’ with Viognier from Condrieu and finished with Grenache from Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I was based at Tain L’Hermitage, and on the right day, with the right breeze, scents of chocolate wafted over the vineyards from the Valrhona Chocolate factory.

WD: WD is now craving a European holiday (and chocolate)!

AM: I spent six months in Tain L’Hermitage, and managed a quick side trip to Barolo, Italy. Wow, that opened my eyes - wine made for Kings! A region I needed to revisit, and I returned to Barolo the following vintage. While working in Tain L’Hermitage, I met Caroline Dunn (Wolf Blass winemaker). She offered me a job looking after Clare Valley vineyards and fruit processing. That led me to Wolf Blass, and I looked after Quelltaler Vineyards and the fruit from Clare for the following sixteen years. It’s a fantastic region! The Riesling from Carlsfield Vineyard is very special. Chris Hatcher employed me to oversee the harvest for Annie’s Lane in 2001, and I was appointed the Senior Winemaker in 2007 until 2017.

WD: You followed your passion for vines and wine on a global wanderlust adventure. Do you have a soft spot for a particular grape?

AM: This year, I have completed 25 vintages between McLaren Vale, Barossa, Clare Valley, France, Italy and Germany. I have always had a love of alternative varieties, and I guess that began with my time spent in Europe.

WD: With your roots in viticulture, do you believe this to have been instrumental to your success as a winemaker?

AM: Understanding what’s going on in the vineyard is crucial to how I make wine. And it’s a team effort. I like the fact that, as winemakers, we are involved with the grape growers to taste the harvest. Then we work with the cellar crew, preparing for each stage from fermentation to maturation. Then it’s meetings with marketing where we look at blends and promotions of those wines. And finally, we have an appreciation for where it goes – to the customers, where we do tastings, discuss the stories behind the wine, and how they might evolve.

Connecting the vineyard to the wine for me is very important and satisfying. I especially enjoy tasting the fruit during harvest. It’s about making the right choices so that you come out with great wine to show. Being involved with many vineyards and regions, you’ll find those gems. It’s important to trust and back your instincts and adapt as the season changes. Of course, we want to keep to a particular style, but every season is different, and that’s exciting.

You are capturing that vintage and putting forth what the season has provided. It’s primary produce we are dealing with, and it’s all about how those grapes are grown, taste and how the wines are made and matured. There’s not one recipe so that encourages diversity.

WD: WD spent time with you in the Barossa recently. You described wine in a way that really struck. You said, “Wine must be an expression of the season”.

AM: Yeah... and I think when you look at older wines versus your own wines, you remember the great seasons and the challenging ones. When you've made something good out of a challenging year, it’s a feeling worth bottling.

Next week:
La Poubelle talks about innovative styles, clichés, and legacy.