A Day in the Life of Adam Eggins, Chief Winemaker Wakefield Wines

Bordeaux Index interviews Adam Eggins, Chief Winemaker Wakefield Wines he shared what a typical day looks like for him out in Australia.

My alarm goes off at…

I rise early weekdays and walk for five minutes on level 20 on a NordicTrack Elliptical Walker. Afterwards, I have a shower and by now I feel completely awake for my day ahead. I share breakfast with Arkee, a Pineapple Conure, and we enjoy the morning view of vast open farmland,10-20 kilometres of open clean space. We also read daily updates from industry press over breakfast as we contemplate the day ahead.

My commute is….

My commute is broken up by visiting two horses that I feed every morning. Quick hello, and an apple and a carrot, some hay, then off to work which is two kilometres from my home. I chose long ago to live very close to where I work thinking at the time that this would give me more time for work and more time for home and less time commuting. This works well if you can enjoy the tranquillity of country life.

I’m responsible for ….

Ultimately a Chief Winemaker is responsible for our brand quality that is poured from every bottle we make. Our focus then becomes our mantra of equal to or greater than before. The challenge then becomes to make decisions going forward that add to or protect the wine quality and the brand that the wine represents.

My typical day…

A typical day involves being aware of all operations that are underway, deadlines, quality signoff moments, stakeholder engagement as we grow or make change in our business.

Best days at the office involve learning new things, blending days and allocation or benchmark tastings which are fabulous ways to learn and grow as a winemaker.

To find a wine that is truly inspiring is great, but the real reward for me comes from researching the how and why that defines the wines inspiration.

My most memorable moment…

It is hard to pinpoint one moment. The christening of a new cellar built over two challenging years (2007 – 2008 when the Global Financial Crisis occurred) called the Jaraman Cellar was a highlight. After several years of planning it was crunch time and in 2009 we had a large, long and high quality vintage and everything worked. There were improvements found along the way, but the overall team effort was very memorable.

What I am most proud of….

I’m really proud of our international wine show success. Competing with the best on the world stage continues to drive our improvement. Success with Riesling, Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon brings pride not only to our brand but to our region, our employees, and our growers.

What would your Plan B have been?

Plan B would have probably involved something to do with water as fishing is one of my favourite pastimes and I really like spending time near the ocean and our beautiful rivers. Although that’s pretty much my retirement plan now because I’m pretty passionate about what I do here at Wakefield Wines.

Read our other producer interviews here.