10 Questions: Peter Gago, Penfolds Chief Winemaker, 56

YOU were a Melbourne high school teacher with an interest in wine. Why the career change?

YOU were a Melbourne high school teacher with an interest in wine. Why the career change?

A dalliance became a hobby, then an obsession, then a career. Now I'm a winemaker by day but a 24/7 wine-lover. After my wife, Gail, returned to tertiary study - neuropsychology - I did too, with an oenology degree at Roseworthy College in South Australia.

Then Gail went into state politics and is now government leader in the upper house. What did you make of being called SA's most powerful couple earlier this year?
We had a bit of a chuckle and were reminded that you can't believe everything you read.

You topped the class at Roseworthy and went to work for Penfolds. What has kept you there for 24 years?
Being spoilt silly helps - the best team, the best vineyards, the best raw material. I used to joke I had the best job in the world when I was red oenologist - when I did quite a bit of what I'm doing now but without any onerous responsibility. There's a little more pressure now.

Last year you were named Winemaker's Winemaker of the Year, a global, peer award. Beyond the personal, what is its significance?
That it went to someone from a big winemaker, not from a family or boutique winery, and from the "New World" is quite remarkable.

Are you still a hands-on winemaker?
Yes. Winemaking and vineyards get my full attention from January to May, vintage season being fairly much a "no-fly" zone. However, from June to December I can be doing almost anything, anywhere, anytime.

What does that mean?
A lot of international travel: launching wines, re-corking clinics, meetings with the full wine-business continuum - trade, media and the all-important end-user. Last year there were four days when I flew between events in New York, Melbourne, briefly to Adelaide to catch up with Gail, via London to work in Moscow, then Berlin. At the end of it you are still meant to appear normal and sensible - always a challenge - and not jetlagged. That's not "winemaking", but it's an important part of the role.

Is your sensitive winemaker's "nose" an issue at home as well as at work?
Sadly for Gail, yes. Our fridge has to be really clean! Professionally, fine-tuning of the senses is all-important - coupling the innate with developing a sensory memory and diagnostic database. Tasting with a team helps. I'm never short of a good excuse to try more wines - R&D!

Grange and other Penfolds wines have been very successful for a long time. Is Penfolds a "tall poppy"?
Probably yes, but it keeps us honest, competitive. I often taunt that it's exciting launching new wines, new labels, riding the latest wine fashion cycle. Extolling the virtues of a wine style in its 37th or 53rd release - not quite as easy.

What is wine's place in our culture?
The new golf? An important language of business, diplomacy? Primarily it's a wonderful drink we like to share and no longer a beverage for the chosen few. My advice is: follow a writer or mentor with similar tastes - a different one for each style - create a short-list and dabble. But watch out, that innocent wine by the glass may lead to the purchase of a bottle or case, to a wine fridge or cellar, and who knows what after that.

Do you have alcohol-free days?
No. But in this game I'm extremely conscious of enjoying wine in moderation and of the importance of exercise. Once the work/drinking/exercise dynamic clicks in, self-moderation follows. Usually!