Faced by the recent departures of Larry Cherubino and Steve Pannell, the Hardy Wine Company has readjusted its top tier of winemaking management. Paul Lapsley, who recently experienced a short time at Coldstream Hills and Seppelt Great Western for Southcorp, moves into the more familiar role for him as Group Red Winemaker. He is replaced as Group White Winemaker by Tom Newton, generally regarded as a white wine specialist, who in recent years has overseen winemaking at the company’s Stonehaven winery at Padthaway (SA). He has also played a significant role in more upmarket wines such as Yarra Burn’s Bastard Hill Chardonnay. Sue Bell takes over as Senior Winemaker / Manager for Stonehaven. Peter Dawson remains Chief Winemaker for the company, Ed Carr as Sparkling Winemaker, while Paul Kassebaum moves into the newly created position of Group Winemaker Riverland / Sunraysia. While there is no doubt that the loss of such high-profile makers such as Cherubino and Pannell would impact on any company, it is certainly a tall story to suggest that Hardys finds itself bereft of winemaking talent. To my mind, Lapsley, Newton and Carr make a pretty handy trio, not to mention the very talented group beneath them who have not been given their time under the spotlight.
