Katnook Coonawarra has announced the appointment of Tim Heath as its new Senior Winemaker and he will commence in the role in late June 2018.
Heath is currently the Senior Winemakers at Cloudy Bay vineyards in New Zealand, where he has been for the last 14 years. As well as being responsible for all aspects of creating Cloudy Bay’s wine styles, Heath has also overseen the winery’s infrastructure and expansion during his time there.
Heath was born and raised in Adelaide and after starting a Bachelor of Science at the University of Adelaide, he transferred to a Bachelor of Oenology, when he realised that winemaking “looked like too much fun to be considered a ‘real’ job”. He graduated from Oenology with First Class Honours, completing a thesis entitled ‘The development of non-destructive photo-chemical assay to measure the ingress of oxygen into bottled wine through various closures.’
Speaking of his new role, Heath said: “I’m excited to be joining the team at Katnook, which has some of the finest terroir in the Coonawarra region, as well as an incredible pedigree and history.”
Katnook’s Executive Director of Operations and Finance, Chris Pike,welcomed Heath to the winery, saying: “We are thrilled that someone of Tim’s winemaking calibre has accepted this role. Tim brings a wealth of international expertise and creative flair that is certain to build on the great legacy left by Wayne Stehbens and to take Katnook Coonawarra into an exciting future.”
Prior to time at Cloudy Bay, Heath was Winemaker at Mountadam in the Barossa Valley, during which time he assisted with vintage at Cave de Tain-l’Hermitage, Northern Rhone, France. Tim has visited most major French, Spanish and German wine regions, rounding out his international approach to winemaking.