‘what is that smell…….a dirty sock or a musty wine barrel?'

From childhood memories of family day trips and the aromas of the ‘musty’ Swan Valley wine Cellars in the early 1970’s through to toiling in the Chatsfield vineyard in 2008 it seems Gordon Parker was always destined for this role. A passion for unique handcrafted wines seems to have evolved from the range of influences imbibed over a number of decades. These experiences have inspired a philosophy that commences in the vineyard and progresses through the winemaking process to the final element of ‘getting the wine into the bottle’.

University Studies in Perth in the early 80’s were supplemented by employment in the retail wine industry which probably founded the sensory skills and an interest to assess wines at many levels.

After 5 years in the retail wine business in Perth WA, Gordon followed his passion and headed south to take up a new career in 1992, ‘Winemaking in Margaret River’.

Moving to NSW in 1995 to finish winemaking studies at Charles Sturt University allowed Gordon to gain broader experience within the industry. A ‘short’ vintage in the Hunter Valley in 1995 gave an insight to the difficulties of a ‘warmer’ grape growing region which is often subjected to adverse conditions. Later that year a chance meeting at the 1995 Royal Melbourne Wine Show with a winemaker from ‘Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley, resulted in an opportunity to work with the highly respected James Halliday in 1996.

Inspired by the passion and commitment of the Coldstream Hills crew to produce premium quality wines, Gordon knew this was his dream and finished winemaking studies at the end of 2006. 2007 saw him return to WA to take up a position at Plantagenet Wines in Mt Barker WA what was to be a 5 year stint making ‘iconic’ Mt Barker Wines.

In 1998 an opportunity arose where he gained cultural and winemaking experience with an 8 week stint as a ‘flying winemaker’ in the south of France.

In mid 2001 an opportunity arose to join the Forest Hill team in Mt Barker and undertake a role in the design and construction of their ‘new’ winery facility in Denmark WA. After 2 and a half years involved in the establishment of that facility, managing daily operations of winery and marketing and the successful completion of 2 vintages of wines a new challenge emerged.

January 2004 saw an opportunity to work with the highly regarded winery Domaine Chandon making ‘Sparkling Wines’ in the Yarra Valley VIC. A 6 month contract allowed an insight into sparkling winemaking………another secret passion.

The result is that Gordon has gained 16 years winemaking experience at a number of highly regarded wineries in WA and Vic.

The focus of these wineries to produce premium wines have helped ‘steel’ the passion and form skills required to craft wines indicative of the grapes and region of their origin.

With only a few departures from the Great Southern Wine Region to gain a broader winemaking base, Gordon has spent the last 11 years crafting wines from the region surrounding the home of Chatsfield Wines.

the wineries . . . .