The Wicks family has appointed Adam Carnaby as Chief Winemaker at Wicks Estate, situated in the cool climate wine region of the Adelaide Hills.
“Tim and I are thrilled to announce Adam as Chief Winemaker at Wicks Estate and are excited for what the future holds,” Wicks Estate Director Simon Wicks said.
“His experience across all our key varietals and his knowledge of vineyard, terroir and winemaking along with an enormous passion for wine will be a great asset for the Wicks brand.”
Adam has gained winemaking experience across Australia, beginning in the Yarra Valley, where he worked with pinot noir expert Tom Carson, then in Margaret River, with Xanadu Wines. Most recently, Adam was chief winemaker at Seppelt Wines, in Great Western.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining the team at Wicks and look forward to working with premium Adelaide Hills fruit from the estate vineyard. It’s paramount that wine be regionally expressive and have a sense of place” Adam says.
The Adelaide Hills wine region of approximately 70 kilometres of vineyards is well known for its diverse topography, high altitude and micro-climates.
Wicks Estate is a family owned and operated wine company producing hand crafted wines from their vineyard and state-of-the-art winery at Woodside. As a vertically integrated company, it controls the wine making process from vineyard to winery.
About Adam Carnaby
Adam grew up in Melbourne and was introduced to wine by his father, who had an interest in wine. Adam studied science at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and was working part time as Bar Manager at the Hilton Melbourne when he decided to pursue the science of making wine. He returned to study, at Charles Sturt University, for a Wine Science degree and worked vintages at Tarrawarra and Punt Road in the Yarra Valley.
After graduating, Adam joined the team at Yering Station, working with Pinot legend Tom Carson.
Six years later, Adam moved to Xanadu in Margaret River, where Chardonnay and Cabernet are king – Xanadu and Yering Station are part of the Rathbone Group.
At Xanadu, Adam mastered larger scale wine making and timing – the right moment to pick fruit so as to retain characters of provenance in the final product.
In 2011, Adam moved back to Central Victoria and Shiraz heartland, as chief winemaker at Seppelt, Great Western where he was instrumental in continuing Seppelt’s success during his tenure.
