Meet the Makers – Seppelt Part 1
Directions
As the saying goes: if you want something done, ask a busy woman. To test the maxim, WineDown set off in search of one. Someone with a small child would be a likely contender. Or maybe a few of them. Let’s say three kids, all under seven. And let’s give her a substantial role with one of Australia’s oldest and best-loved brands. Something that involves lots of responsibility, long hours, and plenty of travel. Brand ambassador... winemaker... no, CHIEF winemaker! And to seal the deal, let’s seek her out at the busiest possible time – smack bang in the middle of vintage. That oughta do it...
CLARE DRY
Not surprisingly, she’s a tricky one to lock in for an interview. Between inspecting fruit at their premium Victorian vineyards, and ensuring things are ship shape at the Barossa winemaking facility, Seppelt’s newly appointed chief winemaker spends a fair amount of time on the road – and in the air. But WineDown managed to pin her down for almost a whole hour...
WD: Thanks for making time to talk to WineDown, Clare.
CD: Are you kidding? I adore WineDown. I wouldn’t miss this opportunity for the world! *
*It’s possible that those weren’t Clare’s exact words. Nevertheless, mindful of her time constraints, WineDown got down to business...
WD: You’re right in the middle of vintage. What’s happening out there?
CD: Well, the whites are pretty much done. The Drumborg Rieslings are finishing ferment, so we’ll be chilling ‘em and killing ‘em today, when the sugar level is right...
(Chilling and killing refers to the process of stopping fermentation by cooling the ferment, and then killing any remaining yeast cells so that there’s no chance of an accidental second ferment).
CD: ... the Chardonnays are going through Malo...
(meaning Malolactic fermentation: the process where tart Malic acid is transformed into softer, more approachable lactic acid.)
CD: ... the Drumborg Pinot is mostly off now...
(As in harvested. Off the vine. Not “erk, this wine’s off”)
CD: ... but surprisingly, we haven’t really stepped into Great Western too much yet. It’s pretty unusual for Drumborg to be finished before Great Western, so this will be a long vintage for me.
Already, WineDown’s head is spinning.
WD: So when will it all be done??
CD: Well, we still have the Shiraz block at back of the Great Western vineyard – the Bass Block. That’ll be another 10 days to two weeks yet.
WD: It sounds exhausting.
CD: It’s pretty exciting, actually. I travel every week and go and look at all the blocks, and I make the picking decisions together with Larry, James and Malcolm, our very experienced vineyard managers. . You have to extrapolate a bit... it can be four or five days out from picking... And of course, we have a pretty big winery here at Barossa, so there’s a lot of scheduling that has to be done so that everything fits.
WD: Are you ready to make your ’21 vintage predictions yet?
CD: (a dry laugh. Literally.) I don’t think that any winemaker likes making predictions at this time of year. But I feel I can say that Drumborg has had a good year... weather conditions for ripening have been very favourable... and actually, the quality looks great... I’m really happy with the Chardonnay and the Riesling... and the Pinot’s coming up nicely too...
WD: OK, so let’s go back. You were born and bred in Victoria, on the Mornington Peninsula. Were your parents in the wine biz?
CD: No! Dad was a teacher, and my lot are all lawyers, so I’m the black sheep... I was always really interested in horticulture and growing things. My Opa – my grandfather – immigrated from Germany. He was a horticulturalist, and actually quite successful. He used to look after parts of the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and later, in Daylesford. He had a real passion, and that inspired me.
WD: So, how did your parents take the news that you didn’t want to be a lawyer...?
CD: They were pretty pragmatic. I think they just felt it might be tough making a career out of horticulture...
WD: Yeah, you’d need a really good back up job. Like acting.
CD: Anyway, I was in high school, and work experience was coming up... Mum and Dad said how about trying at a vineyard? So, I approached Red Hill Estate, and they took me. They were great people – really welcoming. I was there for a week – two days in the vineyard and three days in the winery. And I realised where I really wanted to be.
WD: The winery?
CD: Yep. It just sparked something in me... a passion. I was 16.
WD: So, the die was cast. Did you go straight to uni?
CD: No, I took some time and did couple of vintages first – one in Mornington, and one in Germany.
WD: Why not France?
CD: Ich spreche fließend Deutsch!
WD: Of course – thanks, Opa!
CD: Yeah, so, it was just a little wine village... our family over there knew the people who had the winery. More than anything it was an adventure – being 18 and living and working overseas. But it really cemented for me that I was in the right industry.
WD: Then you came home and attacked your degree?
CD: Pretty much. I moved to Adelaide, which was fun, and did my Bachelor of Oenology at the University of Adelaide.
WD: Winemakers often talk about the importance of mentors in their lives. Was there anyone who gave you particularly good advice?
CD: Oh yeah, I’ve never forgotten it. When I was about to graduate, I was back home in Mornington for a visit, and I went down to Kathleen Quealy’s cellar door…
(Kathleen Quealy co-founded T’Gallant in 1990, and was a pioneer of Pinot Grigio in Mornington)
CD: ...she said: “You've got to go and cut your teeth in a big, big company. Learn from everyone. I really recommend it.” And she was so right.
WD: So, did you?
CD: Well, it was funny. Back at uni, one of the guest lecturers suggested we all go for jobs as vintage winemakers…
(During vintage, when the workload is high, it’s common to bring in a recent graduate or even someone just at the end of their degree as a ‘vintage winemaker’ to help with the grunt work. They don’t necessarily need a lot of experience, but they need to know how to find their way round a winery.)
CD: ...so I actually, funnily enough, applied for my very first job at Great Western!
WD: So now you’ve come full circle.
CD: Not exactly. They didn’t want me.
WD: Ouch.
CD: But then someone said – why don’t you come across to the Barossa? So I did. I got a job there as vintage winemaker, which led to a permanent contract as a technical assistant – another pretty basic job... mostly lots of running around... but they must have felt that I showed some promise, because they ended up offering me a role as winemaker.
WD: So you followed Kathleen Quealy’s advice after all.
CD: Honestly, I think it's the best thing you can do. You're learning from lots of different people. Instead of just one other winemaker that you work with, you've got 15 - 20 other winemakers there day to day. You're making decisions on fruit from various grades and lots of different varieties and different styles, so you're exposed to the whole gamut – and learning really good winemaking techniques. I wouldn’t swap it.
Clare worked with the winemaking team at Wolf Blass for 12 years. In November 2020, she left to take up the role of chief winemaker at Seppelt.