Teresa Heuzenroeder has been appointed Senior Winemaker and Manager for Accolade Wines’ historic Tintara facility. In addition, Teresa will take on the role of Senior Winemaker for the Petaluma and Croser brands.

This announcement follows Mike Mudge stepping down from the role of Senior Winemaker and Manager at Petaluma.

Initially specialising in food and wine chemistry, Teresa entered the wine industry as a Microbiologist before combining this knowledge and expertise into winemaking. Teresa is joining Accolade Wines after a 26-year career at Yalumba, where she held senior winemaking roles across a number of Yalumba and Hill Smith Family vineyard brands.

Sandy Mayo, Chief Marketing Officer at Accolade Wines, said: “We recently bid farewell to Mike Mudge as our Senior Winemaker and Manager at Petaluma. Mike has been integral to the growth and success of the Petaluma and Croser brands, and has been an upholder of quality and an ambassador for the Adelaide Hills region. We would like to thank Mike for his outstanding contribution to Petaluma and Croser over 30 years and we wish him and his family every success for the future.”

Last year, Accolade Wines announced that, due to increased demand for the Petaluma and Croser brands, it had reached capacity at Woodside Estate in the Adelaide Hills and outgrown the site. The decision was made to move production of the Petaluma and Croser portfolio to the Company’s Tintara facility in McLaren Vale to support the ongoing and planned growth of Petaluma and Croser, in Australia and internationally. The Company is currently investigating new locations for the Petaluma Cellar Door to reach even more Petaluma consumers and provide new and interesting experiences for wine and food lovers.

“Teresa, who is well known to the industry, is a highly experienced winemaker,” Mayo added. “We are excited for her to join our talented team at Tintara and look forward to seeing the great work she does in her new role,” she said.

Accolade Wines brand custodians Nigel Sneyd MW (Global Wine Director), Ed Carr (Group Sparkling Winemaker) and Craig Stansborough (Group Premium Winemaker), who are all based in South Australia, are responsible for the quality of all wines in the Accolade Wines portfolio. They will continue to provide guidance and support to maintain the high quality for which Petaluma and Croser wines are famous.

Teresa said: “Having the opportunity to join the amazing team at Accolade Wines and learn from world-class experts including Ed and Nigel, was a big drawcard for me. The Tintara site has such strong heritage as a distinguished winemaking facility and I am so excited to work with some of the most respected Australian wine brands. I look forward to coming on-board with Accolade Wines and bringing a new set of skills and perspective to help take these wines to new levels.”

Accolade Wines restructures its SA operations

Accolade Wines announced late last year that it was restructuring its South Australian operations and putting the two wineries that make the Petaluma and Croser brands and Grant Burge white wine range up for sale.

“In response to the increasing global demand for Petaluma and Croser, these brands have reached capacity at Woodside Estate and outgrown the site,” CEO Robert Foye said. “Therefore, we have made the decision to sell this facility and transfer all winemaking of the Petaluma and Croser portfolio to the spiritual home of Accolade Wines and our state-of-the-art facility at Tintara.”

“With a long history of Adelaide Hills winemaking, Tintara has a phenomenal barrel cellar, amazing winemakers and a sizeable site that can accommodate all fruit from the Petaluma and Croser vineyards and family of grower vineyards. It will enable us to produce even more quality Petaluma wine that people have come to know and love.”

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