Description
About Watkins Wine
Sam’s initial exposure to the wine industry was growing up around the vineyards his parents planted in the 90s, so the decision to study winemaking at the University of Adelaide at age 17 was a very natural one. Graduating shortly afterwards, Sam is the first winemaker in the Watkins Family and makes up a third of the second generation of Watkins to work in wine in the Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek. To broaden his scope of knowledge and hands-on experience during and post study, Sam completed several vintages under the tutelage and watchful eyes of some of the most influential Australian winemakers including:
Fiona Donald at Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley
Philip Shaw at Philip Shaw Wines in Orange, NSW
Sue Hodder at Wynns in Coonawarra.
Keen to learn more and gain a more global perspective on the wine industry, styles and winemaking techniques to bring back to South Australia, Sam also undertook several international vintages including:
Quinta da Roeda in Douro Valley, Portugal to learn about fortifieds,
St Supery in Napa to learn more about Cabernet.
Now Head Winemaker at the largest winery in the Adelaide Hills Wine Region, Sam has been custodian of the site for the past 17 years. He is a strong believer in giving back to the wine industry and has volunteered with the Langhorne Creek Wine Region in various positions for the past 9 years
To round out Sam’s holistic approach to winemaking, he has also gained considerable on-trade and consumer insight having worked as a Sommelier/ Wine Expert at Penfold’s Magill Estate Restaurant and is WSET qualified. Sam holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wine after being invited into the inaugural South Australia Cohort, having previously gained WSET Level 3 certification in 2017. In addition, after completion of the WSET Level 3 course, Sam then, upon receiving the Wayne Thomas Scholarship from McLaren Vale, completed the AWAC.
