Matt Koch - Winemaker Profile

Following an eight-year stint at Rosemount's McLaren Vale winery in South Australia, Matt Koch has recently relocated to his home state of New South Wales to head the Rosemount Estate Denman winery in the Hunter Valley - his childhood stomping ground.

Matt grew up in the town of Tamworth and would often travel to the Hunter Valley accompanying his parents as they toured wineries. This sparked an interest in winemaking and after completing school he headed south to Roseworthy College. His career looked like it may take a different turn when he moved to Sydney to become a brewer, but after travelling overseas to California's Napa Valley and working with London Wine Merchant, Harvey Nichols, Matt returned to winemaking. "I realized that making wine involved much more challenge and variation, working with multiple grape varieties and winemaking techniques". In 1995, he returned to Australia and became a winemaker with Rosemount Estate.

Matt had a hand in making some of Rosemount Estate's most awarded wines including the 2001 Rosemount Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot - known as Traditional - which won Australia's most coveted award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy and the 1998 Traditional which was awarded the Trophy for Best Blended Red Wine at the 2000 International Wine and Spirit Competition.

Now based in the Upper Hunter Valley, he is rekindling his love for New South Wales' winegrowing regions. Matt is now responsible for internationally acclaimed wines such as Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Chardonnay from the Hunter Valley and Mountain Blue Shiraz Cabernet from Mudgee.

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