Rory Lane
The Story

It's a great story of modern Australian wine and one that many are pursuing. Young man has vision for great wine, wants to work with quality vineyard but the only option is to buy grapes and make it in a small winery. The Grampians come to Melbourne each vintage under Rory Lane's careful watch and he works some handy magic in the shed. The story unfolds in slightly different fashion each year, as the project develops, gathers momentum, switches tack or simply rolls on. And just like any good story, there's a plot, a few interesting characters and, we predict, a happy ending.

Q&A

Is there a wine or a person that inspires you as a winemaker?
Those few winemakers willing to truly explore ideas in winemaking, not just products

What is so-hot-right-now in wine?
Cash-flow, unfortunately.

What got you into wine?
Drinking wine at the dinner table with my parents. They were not connoisseurs but they were interested enough to light a spark for me. Then a vintage in Oregon which taught me about the generosity, kindness and fun of wine-folk.

What's your desert island wine?
A crisp white that went with the plentiful bounty of natural oysters and shellfish on the island. Good Riesling probably.

Why should you win the people's vote for the YGWA?
So that I can get a book deal and a spot on the first season of m@asterwinemaker on network ten.

(Complete this sentence) If there was no wine in the world...
I would definitely have played league football and have a phd.

As a winemaker, where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
Still searching for greater expression, freshness and perfume in my wines, and hopefully contributing something of relevance to the world wine community