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Ask Seppelt winemaker Emma Wood about why she chose winemaking as a career and she'll tell you an unconventional tale.

A high achiever, Emma was lucky enough to be able to choose from a range of 'futures' in her final school year - her options included tertiary studies in engineering and science.

It wasn't until a career night at Roseworthy Agricultural College, however, when the inspiration finally hit. As Emma says "between the pig farming and horse husbandry they mentioned winemaking", and the rest - as they say - is history.

These days - when Emma reflects on her choice - it seems totally unremarkable. After all, she grew up in Adelaide, the capital of Australia's large wine-producing state. Her parents are keen wine collectors and Emma developed her own passion for fine wine she developed while living with a family in France for six months before taking her place at Roseworthy.

During college breaks, she helped with vintage and grape picking at McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley and in 1998, completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Oenology) with First Class Honours and was runner-up to the Dux.

Emma joined Southcorp, Seppelt's parent company, in 1999, through its Graduate Winemaking Program. From 1999 to 2000 she worked in Central Victoria, the Barossa Valley, Coonawarra and Great Western, spending six months in each region. During this time, she gained hands-on experience with a range of winemaking and regional styles and worked with some of Australia's most passionate and experienced winemakers.

In 2000 Emma transferred to the Lindemans Karadoc winery where she oversaw the crafting of white wines from the vineyard to the bottle. This included the multi-award winning Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay and Lindemans Cawarra range.

In 2003 Emma was back in the South of France to work vintage in the Languedoc region, where she managed a 450 tonne Syrah production at three Cave Cooperative wineries. Upon her return to Australia in 2004, Emma took up winemaking at Seppelt Great Western where she is currently responsible for red and white table wines as well as traditional method, premium sparkling wines. She enjoys the challenges of looking after a wide range of varieties and styles, in particular producing balanced, elegant wines that remain regionally and varietally expressive without excessive alcohol or use of oak, saying "the amazing premium fruit sourcing at Seppelt makes it one of the most exciting wineries in which to work".

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