–Life as an Estate Winemaker–
There are certain pleasures in life which seemingly cut through culture and space. That is, what one person may find to be a lovely experience in one geographic region of the world, another individual situated in a completely different locale may end up sharing the same level of delight when partaking in the same activity.
Resultantly, such indulgence is often observed to have at some point created its own sub-culture surrounding the activity. A certain vernacular and way of communicating about the pursuit ultimately takes shape whereby those associated with it can begin to discuss and share their thoughts more intimately.
You may be wondering, what could this possibly be referring you? Let me fill you in.
The making and consumption of winemaking has been around for thousands of years. It has come to mean a lot during that time. You could consider notions of lifestyle, business, science and culture to name a few constructs it has come to represent and be associated with.
On today’s show, it is this topic of winemaking and all that it means regarding the aforementioned, on a regional, national and global level that we will dive into. And I couldn’t think of a better person to explore it all with than with our guest today.
Introducing
Levi de Loryn is the Director of Winemaking Operations Ontario for Arterra Wines Canada. He oversees the winemaking in the Niagara region for the Niagara Cellars and Estate Wineries including Canada’s Most Awarded Winery Jackson-Triggs, as well as that of the Inniskillin and Sandbanks Wineries.
Prior to this role, he was the Estate Winemaker for Jackson-Triggs which has captured an unprecedented number of awards in international and domestic competitions.
Born in a small town outside of Adelaide, Australia, Levi de Loryn grew up surrounded by vineyards and had a natural curiosity for the winemaking process.
Winemaking Experiences
After Levi received his degree in Food Technology and Microbiology at the University of South Australia, he landed a cellar position at Château Yaldara in the Barossa Valley. Yaldara is the Indigenous word for sparkling, which coincidentally is Levi’s true passion, sparkling wines. In his eyes, they are “complex and challenging, but done right can be magnificent, and so rewarding.”
He then switched gears and moved into the laboratory as a Senior Wine Analyst at Hardy Wine Company. During that time, Hardy’s was acquired by Constellation Brands, and this afforded Levi the opportunity to work a harvest as a cellar hand at Blackstone winery, in Sonoma Valley, California.
He later moved back to Adelaide, Australia to work as Senior Wine Analyst & Vintage Cellar Hand at Constellation Brands.
Levi took a break from the wine industry and travelled to Japan to teach English for a couple of years, where he met his soon to be Canadian wife, Tracey.
Once back in Australia, he completed his Master’s of Oenology at Adelaide University and went on to work with his wife at Wither Hills Winery in Marlborough where he gained invaluable experience.
In 2010, he moved to Canada to work at Flat Rock Cellars, which gave him valuable experience working at a smaller scale winery, where fruit was hand sorted and selected and he learned to appreciate the quality of a gravity fed winery.
He then returned to Australia for another vintage in the heart of the Barossa Valley, working as Senior Cellar Hand at St. Hallet Winery, where he worked with some bold reds and got to experiment with some of Australia’s oldest vines.
Canadian Winemaking
Since 2011 Levi has been using his expertise in the Niagara region where he’s worked as Assistant Winemaker at Rockway Glen Estate Winery, and then Associate Sparkling Winemaker at Angels Gate Winery & Kew Estates Winery as well as Sparkling Wine Consultant & Processing Manager for Millesime.
Arterra Wines
In late August of 2018, Levi joined Arterra Wines Canada as Estate Winemaker for Jackson-Triggs Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Most recently Levi has taken on the role of Director of Winemaking Operations Ontario. He oversees winemaking at the Niagara Cellars and the Estate Wineries (JT, Inniskillin, Sandbanks).
Reasons to Listen
In this engaging talk, listeners will gain access to unfettered opinions relating to the world of international winemaking as well as insights into many of the lesser known but equally compelling aspects of it all.
We also dive into what it takes to run a world class winemaking enterprise like Jackson-Triggs.
Furthermore, Levi provides many entertaining and inspiring stories from his own formative winemaking experiences in Australia, New Zealand, the US and of course in Canada.
Listeners will also be treated to takes on Canadian winemaking in terms of how far it has come and why international markets ought to be on the lookout for more great things to come from the great wide north.
Levi’s passion and knowledge shine through this entire talk whether he is discussing and describing the merits of a gravity fed winery or what it was like for him to harvest his first ice wine.
This conversation will be a treat for those wanting to learn more about the winemaking industry as a whole and what the Canadian experience of it all represents to a true winemaker.
Listen in for all this and more!
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“Canada is an incredible wine growing community. We’re slowly growing acclaim across the world for our wines that we make. We are riding off the wave of ice wine… A lot of the wines we are making here–especially sparkling wines–are going to be incredible world renowned wines in the future. We have a bright bright future as a Canadian winemaking industry.”
-Levi de Loryn
Check out the Video Conversation:
For those who desire to view the full video conversation of this discussion, you can do so via Youtube.
Words of Wisdom:
Hear from Levi as he shares advice to those looking to get involved in the winemaking industry.
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about Levi and his work, you can find and connect with him through Arterra Wines Canada. You can also follow him here:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
