A. Retief

Owner and winemaker Alex Retief’s wine career was prompted by his parents planting a vineyard near Ladysmith in Gundagai in '97. He enrolled in the wine science course at CSU, and in '01 was accepted as the trainee winemaker at the university’s winery. The ensuing years were spent gaining experience in Fetzer Sonoma Valley, the Hunter (working with Andrew Margan), the Languedoc and Bordeaux (where Alex was winemaker at Château de Lagarde). Returning to Australia, he launched the A. Retief label in '08, making wines from both family and contract-grown grapes in the Gundagai, Tumbarumba and Hilltops regions. In '16 Alex set up the Sydney Urban Winery, located first in St Peters and since '18 in the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park. -JAMES HALLIDAY