A summer job set Wood on his career path in winemaking

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WHAT started off as a high school summer job eventually charted a career path in the wine industry for Domaine Chandon Australia estate director Bernie Wood.

“I grew up in the Yarra Valley (a region in Victoria, Australia). When I was 14, my mother wanted to get me out of the house during the summer holidays because I was becoming annoying. She learnt that a French company had started a vineyard and sent me there to work,” said the 38-year-old Wood, who was recently in Malaysia with Estates & Wines (wine division of Moët Hennessy) business development manager Cameron Murphy to host a tasting session of the Chandon sparkling and still wines.

Bernie Wood

He then went on to work in different vineyards during his school holidays.

After he finished high school a few years later, he went to university to study commercial business and economics.

Feeling that his passion lay in something else, he deferred his studies for a year and worked in a local winery. He changed his course of study and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Applied Science in viticulture and winemaking.

“It was not a common subject to study back then. There were only two universities that offered it and my course had only about 18 people in it,” said Wood.

The wine industry was still very small back in the early 90s and opportunities were limited, but Wood’s passion for wine took him to vineyards in California, France, and elsewhere in the Yarra Valley.

He ended up at the very place where he had started working as a boy, serving as senior viticulturist for 11 years before his recent appointment as estate director.

Wood said that the cool climate in the Yarra Valley was suitable for growing grapes because it allowed the grapes to ripen very slowly over a long period of time.

“Because of that, the grapes accumulate the fantastic aromas and flavours that you taste in your glass,” he said.

While many people would whine about the erratic Australian weather, Wood thrives in it.

“A change in weather is as good as a holiday. It could be eight degrees and raining today and it would be 24 degrees and sunny tomorrow. I really enjoy it. It keeps you thinking all the time and it changes your moods,” he said.

During the tasting session held at the Third Floor Restaurant at the JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur, Murphy explained that Chandon had been a domestic label in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and the USA while in export markets, it had been known as Green Point still and sparkling wines.

“It’s always been our desire as a company to have the Chandon brand in both the domestic and export markets,” Murphy said.

He said the Chandon winery attracted about 110,000 visitors every year, with about 30% of them from Asia.

“So it makes sense for those visiting to go back to their countries and buy the same product as they would in Australia,” Murphy said.

Personal taste: Wood hosting the wine tasting session, during which he explained more about the Chandon wines.

Two of the sparkling wines featured in the session were the Chandon NV Brut and the Chandon NV Brut Rosé.

“This wine has a style that we’ve been creating for 10 years on the domestic market. It now dominates its price segment in the domestic market,” Wood said.

He said the Chandon sparkling wines were made using the traditional method of bottle fermentation. “There is also a long yeast ageing period. Each of these wines has aged in the bottle for at least 18 months. We could release it after nine months but it’s the style we’re after. We love the secondary characters that come from the yeast ageing in the bottle,” he said.

For the NV Brut, Wood said the 40% chardonnay content gave it a rich creamy character at the front of the palate and the pinot noir helped extend the wine.

“You smell cashew nuts and almonds and a little bit of yeast or bread notes from the yeast ageing. It’s great with any sort of spicy dish and can be refreshing between mouthfuls of food,” he said.

Wood said the NV Brut Rosé was a style that had picked up in popularity in recent years, particularly with the female consumers.

“This wine speaks for itself in the glass. It’s got a vibrant colour and that’s how it expresses itself both on the aromas and the palate. We add some pinot noir colour base to the wine to give it that beautiful pink colour,” he said.

Wood had one simple piece of advice for those who enjoyed drinking wine but were not experts in the subject: “Drink as much as you can.”

“Keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to explore different varieties. It’s all about personal taste,” he said.