Lumen Waite 100 - Flipbook - Page 17
Roseworthy oenology students in 1989, with Dr Bryce Rankine (far left) and Kenneth Leske (Peter’s dad, far right).
fermenter before. I saw so many things there for the first
time. It’s a good spot to be able to learn because there’s a
lot of amazing research being done there, and the teachers
all put a lot of extra time and effort in.”
These teachers include Associate Professors Sue
Bastian and Paul Grbin. Paul is the Head Winemaker at
the Hickinbotham Roseworthy Wine Science Laboratory.
He graduated from Roseworthy in 1990 and joined the
team at Waite as a staff member in 2001.
“I was essentially in their last real, proper cohort
before the merger happened,” he says. “The post-grad
program has changed considerably. There’s more handson winemaking in our postgraduate program now. There
was very little when I went through. Winemaking is a
complex process and there are lots of scientific disciplines
in there. We try to cover all of that.
about Waite, just how above and beyond academics go to
make students feel special and make sure they’re getting
what they need.”
And their support doesn’t stop when a student’s final
year ends.
“Wine networks come out of it for alumni,” Louise
says. “It’s much more than a job for them. They put
their whole heart into it, and it rubs off all over the world.
International and interstate students return to where they
came from and pollinate the rest of the world.”
“You’ve got to learn the practicalities of winemaking
as well, which is what this building is all about – picking
grapes, processing them, and getting them into a tank.”
Among the crucial but simple advantages of Waite was
its square footage.
“The setup at Roseworthy was all there but it was quite
tight in space. We’re more hands on than we used to be at
Roseworthy because there are more facilities,” Paul says.
“We certainly wouldn’t have been able to cope with the
number of students that we have now. We had our largest
ever cohort in the winery in 2023. It was more than 100.”
It’s all good news for students.
“The industry has grown in terms of product availability,”
Paul says. “There’s more variety. When I went through my
education, no one was really doing Sauvignon Blanc; it was
all about super oaky Chardonnay. The grape varieties and
wine styles of today make it more exciting.”
Graduates of Waite will tell you Paul and his peers are
an essential part of the oenology program’s success.
“They’re not just great scientists, they’ll do anything
for students,” Louise says. “That’s one of the key things
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