Meg Brodtmann
ONE OF A KIND
In a Yarra Valley winery where innovation is everything, Meg Brodtmann is a Master of Wine who’s not afraid to write her own rules in the pursuit of the extraordinary.
As a university student, Meg joked that she’d become the first female Australian Master of Wine. And that’s exactly what she did. Now she’s a sought-after winemaker, judge and educator who’s back in her hometown of the Yarra Valley. After an early career in medical research, Meg’s turned her scientific mind to making premium wines, creating experimental blends and finding more sustainable ways to grow grapes.
Mastering the world of wine
Going from medical research to wine isn’t the usual path of a winemaker. But then, Meg’s never really been interested in the conventional approach. After leaving her job researching immunodeficiencies, she studied winemaking, got some experience and worked her way across Europe and South America as a winemaking consultant. Meg’s star rose fast, and she judged for the UK’s International Wine Challenge and various wine magazines.
After years of intensive study, Meg became the first female Australian Master of Wine, while living in Chile with her winemaker husband and young family and running her own wine consultancy. There are only around 400 Masters of Wine in the world today. It’s the highest qualification in the industry and the toughest to complete.
Meg’s next move saw her return with her family to Victoria’s Yarra Valley wine region, where she was born and raised. She joined the team at Helen & Joey Estate, where Helen Xu, co-owner since 2010, converted the vineyard to premium fruit and built an onsite winery. As senior winemaker, Meg’s focus was on making elegant wines that express the dynamic, cool-climate region.
Her wines included Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz – the superstars of the Yarra Valley. But Meg also brings her expertise to some more left-of-field creations – interesting blends, white wines fermented on grape skins and emerging varieties.
“In the Australian wine community, we don’t trade on tradition. We know where we’ve come from. But I think we’re pretty smart about where we’re going as well. We’re not told what we can plant, where we can plant it, when we can pick it. So, we can make wine our way every year.”
“In the wine industry, you can get a little bit stuck in your ways… But it’s actually good fun to experiment and test yourself.”
– Meg Brodtmann
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