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Dr Mark Krstic, President
Mark is currently employed with the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) as a Program / Innovation Manager. Mark’s responsibilities in this role include managing the Smart Science – Practical Solutions program within GWRDC and developing the platforms to help drive the adoption of R&D solutions throughout the Australian Wine Industry.
Mark has had viticultural research experience in most of the key wine regions within Australia, through both trial and industry liaison work and has presented at numerous conferences both in Australia and overseas.
Associate Professor Robert Learmonth, Vice-President
Dr Elizabeth Waters, Secretary/Public Officer
Liz is the Research Manager-Biochemistry with the Australian Wine Research Institute. She has more than 20 years of experience in wine research covering wine oxidation, closures, protein instability, and the sensory impacts of interactions between wine polymers, such as tannins, and other wine components. She has published more than 120 papers including book chapters, journal articles and technical reports.
After completing her PhD in the Department of Plant Science, University of Adelaide in 1991, Liz undertook post doctoral training at INRA in Montpellier in France on yeast and grape derived polysaccharides in wine. In 1993 she returned to the Australian Wine Research Institute and has been there since that time in various roles.
Liz is also an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide; and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. She was a Program Manager in the Cooperative Research Centre for Viticulture II and a committee member of the 12th and 13th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conferences (2004 and 2007).
Mr Mark Gishen, Treasurer
Mark Gishen has over 20 years wine industry experience spanning from winery production to applied research, and currently operates Gishen Consulting – a specialist technical consulting service. Throughout his career, he has maintained interaction with the industry Australia-wide having spent 12 years with the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) in the Industry Development and Support group where he initiated the key innovative project in infrared spectroscopy. He established Gishen Consulting in 2006, with a current portfolio including a project management contract at the South Australian Wine Industry Association (mainly environmental and climate change response projects), and a range of private client projects including management systems development (HACCP, ISO17025), technology evaluation and commercialization, new product development, and analytical and process systems troubleshooting. He has a Master’s degree in chemical engineering (biotechnology) and has attended the AWRI’s Advanced Wine Assessment Short Course. He is a Technical Assessor for NATA in chemical testing, and a reviewer for the International Journal of Food Science and Technology. He has convened workshops at Australian Wine Industry Technical Conferences since 2001 (Eleventh), coauthored more than 35 refereed and 70 other technical papers, and presented more than 30 conference papers in Australia and internationally.
Mr Nigel Blieschke, Board Member
Nigel Blieschke is the Viticulturist at Peter Lehmann wines, located at Tanunda, South Australia. In this role, he is responsible for grape purchasing and technical viticulture duties as well as managing a number of company vineyards.
Nigel’s career in the wine industry started in 1993 as a cellar hand in the Riverland. This first vintage was followed by vintages in the Hunter Valley and Clare before beginning his viticultural career working in the vineyards at Jim Barry wines in Clare.
After completing a Graduate Certificate in Viticulture at University of Adelaide in 1996, Nigel began work with Yalumba as a technical officer at Yalumba’s Oxford Landing vineyard at Waikerie. After 2 years in the Riverland Nigel moved to the Barossa Valley as Yalumba’s Grape Purchasing Manager responsible for grape purchasing in South Australia and Victoria. In 2002 Nigel took up the position of Nursery Manager at the Yalumba Nursery as well as continuing his viticulturist role in North East Victoria. In 2008 Nigel joined the team at Peter Lehmann Wines as Viticulturist.
Mr Geoff McCorkelle, Board Member
Dr Paul Petrie, Board Member
Dr Gregory Dunn, Board Member
Mrs Corrina Wright, Board Member
Corrina has been a member of the Society since April 2000.
In 1997, Corrina was granted a Scholarship from Southcorp Wines & Adelaide University to study for a year at the University of California- Davis, a university world renowned for its Viticulture and Enology program. After spending a year completing her Oenology studies at Davis, Corrina worked for 6 months for Gallo Sonoma in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma, California. Corrina then returned to Australia to work for Southcorp Wines on their Winemaking Graduate Program.
She graduated from the prestigious Len Evans Tutorial in 2005, and has judged at numerous wine shows around Australia. Corrina has served for 4 years on the Board of the McLaren Vale Grape, Wine & Tourism Association, chaired the McLaren Vale Wine Show Committee for 3 years and has been an export inspector for the AWBC for 4 years. Her commitment to the wine industry in Australia was rewarded with a position on the inaugural ‘Future Leaders- Succession for the Australian Wine Industry’ program in 2006.
Corrina currently is winemaker & director of her family business, Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards, and owns a 40 acre vineyard in McLaren Vale with her viticulturist husband, Dan Wright. Corrina is proud to be part of the 6th generation of Oliver’s on the same vineyard
Associate Professor Vladimir Jiranek, Editor, Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research
Vladimir Jiranek has a PhD from the University of Adelaide for work undertaken in the Department of Plant Biochemistry and at the Australian Wine Research Institute. These studies on the nitrogen and sulfur metabolism of wine yeasts lead to a postdoctoral position in the yeast phospholipid lab of Susan Henry at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. In 1995 Vladimir was appointed a Lecturer in Fermentation Technology/Microbial Physiology at the University of Auckland, where he undertook research with the local the wine, food and biotechnologies industries, before returning to Adelaide in 1997. He currently heads a research group focussed on the functional genomics of wine microbes and their optimisation by classical and recombinant means, and more recently using adaptive evolution. Other topics of interest include the influence of temperature on wine yeast performance, the application of high power ultrasound to winemaking, and the modelling of wine fermentations. The group's findings have been reported through some 110 journal and technical papers, book chapters and conference presentations.
Ms Debra Robinson, Executive Director
Debra is the Executive Director
Her contact details are:
GPO Box 582 Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia
Telephone: +61 8410 9855 Fax: +61 8 8410 9699
Mobile: +61 488 488 416
E-mail: business@asvo.com.au
Ms Amy Swinburne, Administration Officer
Amy is the full time Administrative Officer responsible for providing service to Members and assistance to the Executive Officer
Ms Christina Ursini, AJGWR Administration Officer
Christina works part-time and assists the Journal Editor with administration.