Julian Grounds was appointed Chief Winemaker at Craggy Range beginning in 2019. Grounds brings over 10 years of winemaking industry experience, as he previously was Senior Winemaker at Giant Steps in the Yarra Valley of Australian and Chief Winemaker at McHenry Hohnen in Margaret River.

Originally from Western Australia, Julian was named Dux of the 2017 Len Evans Tutorial, one of Australia’s most prestigious wine industry accolades, and Dux of Viticulture and Oenology at Curtain University, where he won the Leeuwin/Talijancich award for future leadership. Upon graduating, Julian worked at Leeuwin Estate before heading to Central Otago to work on the 2010 vintage, followed by two vintages at Oregon’s Ponzi Vineyards.

Julian’s interest and enthusiasm for contributing to the constant evolution of wine, together with his desire to help consumers understand and enjoy what they are drinking, make him an outstanding fit for Craggy Range’s diverse portfolio of single-vineyard, terroir-driven wines. “I’m inspired by the experiences great wines create for those that consume them” said Grounds. “Great wines are great stories. They are both reflections of land and insight into the human mindset. When the balance between our innate agricultural abilities and the creativity of the human spirit is perfectly aligned, we capture pieces of history.”