OUR WINEMAKERS
Our winemakers enable us to offer you an exceptional portfolio that showcases a wide range of styles for every occasion
OUR PEOPLE
Meet our Winemakers
From vine to glass, these are the individuals whose commitment to their craft and surroundings can be savored in every bottle of Tahbilk wine.
TAHBILK GENERAL MANAGER
Joanne Nash
With Alister Purbrick planning his retirement effective at the end of June 2022, Jo was promoted from within The Tahbilk Group and appointed as General Manager of Tahbilk in 2021 to ensure a smooth management transition.
Today Jo manages all facets of the Tahbilk winery and Estate operations and works with an experienced winemaking team to ensure the Tahbilk style maintains the level of excellence for which it is known internationally.
WINEMAKER
Alan George
Alan has worked over 50 vintages in his lustrous career. Over the decades, he has contributed his expertise to a number of renowned wineries and vineyards, including the historic Chateau Reynella in South Australia, Lindemans in Victoria, and Rosemount Estate in New South Wales. His deep knowledge and passion for winemaking led him to Mitchelton in Nagambie, where he spent nine years refining his craft before joining Tahbilk in 2000, where his influence has been instrumental in maintaining the estate’s tradition of excellence. His connection to Tahbilk deepened further through family, as he is a member of the Purbrick family by marriage to Debbie Purbrick. This personal and professional union has further strengthened his ties to the legacy and future of the estate, making him not only a winemaker but also a passionate steward of its enduring heritage.
WINEMAKER
Brendan Freeman
Brendan Freeman has two decades of hands on experience making premium Central Victorian wines. Initially studying Food Technology he followed his passion for wine and worked full time whilst studying after hours. Brendan received his Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) from Charles Sturt University in 2006. He has worked at McPherson Wines and now works at Tahbilk Winery, focusing predominately on the whites in the Tahbilk range. In 2016 Brendan travelled to the Willamette Valley in Oregon USA for a harvest making premium Pinot Noir.
WINE MAKING TRADITION
The people of Tahbilk have been making wine for 165 years
Our wines are made so they retain their iconic quality and have a style that cannot be matched in the new world way of making wine. A light touch approach which focuses on the importance of terroir. The terroir relates to ensuring the specific qualities of the land our grapes are grown is enriched and shines through in all of our wines.
Old-world winemaking philosophy
Most old-world wines are soft, elegant and tannic. Tahbilk Estate wines approaches making wine like some of the greatest winemaking regions in the world such as Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone. Founded on these principals by one of the most influential winemakers in Tahbilk’s history, Francois Coueslant, who in 1877 arrived at Tahbilk as a practical vigneron from France, but a gentleman with progressive ideas. His winemaking techniques still used today and what led Tahbilk Estate into its first Golden Age. Cornerstone to the old-world winemaking philosophy is fermentation and maturation in oak barrel; rather than stainless steel. Our Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon continue to be fermented in original open oak vats (over 155 years old), followed by maturation is similarly aged large French barrels prior to being bottled. Smaller French and American oak barrels being used late in the winemaking before the wines are blended back together. A craft we have honed over 160 years.
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