With over 130,000 vines to keep in tiptop shape, it takes quite a team to make it all work: It’s a 145km walk to cover every row, but it is done many times in each season, with so much of the work carried out by hand.
We always have an enthusiastic team of paid interns from around the world of wine, most new graduates in viticulture or winemaking, keen to learn about biodynamics and regenerative farming.
But the full time team are the core. At the head are Gareth and Annabel – Gareth is the estate head, with Annabel as lieutenant, although we should call her “Major” given her wins of both the Young Viticulturist and Young Horticulturist competitions in NZ.
Maddy heads up the technical team whose job it is to health check and measure everything, find weaknesses and opportunities, to report back to Gareth and Annabel. Jeanine, Raewyn and Jude are the experienced hands – overseeing the summer and winter teams, the keepers of irrigation, with keen eyes always on the vines. Bruce and Fiona – The longest part timers ever! 20 years at Felton Road means there’s not much they don’t know. Then, Nicci… another very long termer, if we are allowed to have a camp mother it would be Nicci. Karen and Alex focus on the gardens and landscaping – Everything from vegetables to grounds to recreating native plantings. Never forgetting Nina and Cal – two of our younger, keener, viticulturists, always challenging each other, cream always floats to the top.