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Bernard Hickin - Winemaker
In a roundabout way, Orlando Wines has South Australian winemaking
dynasty the Tolleys to thank for its Chief Winemaker, Bernard
Hickin. A city boy, Bernard grew up in a wine drinking family,
but had given making it no thought at all until a school friend
of his secured a job at Tolleys' winery on Adelaide's north
eastern edge. He went along with him and underwent a sea change,
utterly seduced by the smells and sights of a working winery
midvintage.
Quiet and reserved on the surface, a latent passion surfaces
when Hickin remembers that first experience. "Walking
in, I remember this aroma of reds fermenting, the colour of
the red caps … they had a cool room where they fermented
Rieslings and seeing CO2 running down the side and the smell
of the fermenting wine … it was just like being in another
world, a little cocoon of activity so different to anything
in the city. I was absolutely fascinated by it," he recalls.
From then on, he was hooked.
He undertook a Roseworthy Agricultural College degree in
the mid-70s, which in those days was combined with general
agriculture. As well as providing a handy grounding in sheep
and cattle handling, Hickin believes it also gave him a broader
outlook on life than the straight wine science courses of
today might. While there, he worked a vintage at Berri Estates
in the Riverland to get a feel for large tonnages and logistics,
something which undoubtedly stood him in good stead when he
landed his first job with Orlando Wines at its Griffith winery,
just as it was about to undergo a major increase in production.
Griffith was mainly bulk wine then, but between 1976 and
1987 Hickin witnessed and oversaw a progressive move to sparkling
wines and bottled varietals, including the burgeoning brand
and runaway success, Jacob's Creek. Hickin worked to produce
the best possible wines from the region, including a luscious
botrytis Semillon of which he is particularly proud. Outside
of work, he was developing his knowledge and love of all things
vinous, organising regular gourmet dinners and sampling such
delights as fine white Burgundies and even a vertical Petrus
tasting.
In 1987, Hickin came back to the Barossa as Operations Winemaker,
where his passions for white wines and botrytis Semillon were
joined by another, as a real love for sparkling winemaking
developed. He was made Senior White and Sparkling Winemaker
in 1994, and took on responsibility for the whole group in
1997 – and he really couldn't have been happier, since
he's always had a bent for white wines and always found them
fascinating. He responds to their slightly more technical
requirements and the need for fastidiousness, and is known
and respected in the company for always working to get a better
wine, never settling for second best.
Such dedication is not confined to the winery, however. A
walk through the vineyards of Burgundy, tasting grapes off
the vine and seeing how a variety's flavour could alter every
few yards, made Hickin realise how crucial site selection
was. It prompted him to become one of the prime movers behind
Orlando Wines' push to get winemakers out into as many vineyards
as possible and to get the very best quality from each and
every block. He says this process means that all Orlando Wines
grapes are picked at their optimum ripeness and potential.
"It helps a big blend tremendously, because each block
is treated like a Grand Cru vineyard, each harvested at its
best and then vineyards are streamed together for crushing.
That's why we get fantastic varietal flavour in Jacob's Creek,"
he says. "We want to continually surprise the consumer
and get them to say 'how do they do it for this price?'"
In fact, so engrossing has he found it all that he's just
about to plant his own small plot in the Barossa. That would
be enough for most winemakers, but Bernard has yet another
passion he can satisfy at Orlando Wines – for wood.
He has overall responsibility for all oak and barrel purchase,
goes to France twice a year to choose oak and loves nothing
more than discussing the subtleties of different types of
timber.
Bernard Hickin's passions and enthusiasms have not been swamped
as his workload has increased and responsibilities deepened,
but have developed and grown. His wisdom and quiet tenacity
will undoubtedly instil far more than technical know-how to
up and coming generations of winemakers.
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