ED CARR

ROLE

Chief winemaker,

House of Arras, Tasmania; Group sparkling winemaker, Yarra Burn, Victoria, Croser, SA and Bay of Fires, Tasmania

FORMER CAREER

Microbiologist in a dairy company

EARLY CAREER GOAL

Motor vehicle engineering or something in science

THE EPIPHANY

After taking on a winery role, Ed realised it was a lot more exciting than the dairy industry. ED CARR may have recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, but he has never completed any formal winemaking training. Not bad for someone who has made House of Arras a true benchmark in the world of wine – something he came to somewhat unplanned.

“I completed a degree in applied microbiology and worked in the dairy industry for about 18 months testing milk and yoghurt cultures,” Ed says. “The science part of the job was interesting, but it was very repetitive. It was a long time ago too, so it was without all the technology.” Soon after Ed moved into a role at Seaview's Glenloth winery, he began focusing on the microbiology of secondary fermentation in sparkling wines. This grew into an assistant winemaking role and from there, his path was set.

With such a strong background in science, Ed has his own pragmatic take on the art of winemaking. “It’s not magic. Things don’t just happen, it’s a scientific operation,” Ed says. As for the achievements Ed and his team have made in refining the House of Arras collection, he says it’s all come with time. “I guess we’ve learned how to assess base wines and predict what they’re going to be like in the allotted time you’re going to give them. That’s been an evolution that’s come from experience.” After more than 30 years of working with sparkling wines, Ed is passionate about his specialised area and remains as focused as ever. “I enjoy the day-to-day stuff and just being able to craft something from the ground up – literally, from the vineyard to the final product,” he says. “Each year we’re working on a new tirage blend and there’s always something new. We're forever learning and reviewing what we are doing.”

Ed is committed to Tasmanian fruit, having been at the forefront of cool climate sparkling wines, investing in the island state before many others. And having always believed that House of

Arras sparklings could one day be on par with the world’s best, Ed is enjoying the validation of a strong run of awards and success, culminating in that recent Lifetime Achievement honour. “There were a lot of naysayers,” he recalls of the early days. “Not only Europeans, but in Australia too. No one saw it going this far,” he says.

“One of the hardest things we’ve pushed through is the commercial barrier, with the [older] age of these wines moving into price points that’s not traditional Australian sparkling wine territory.”

“I completed a degree in applied microbiology and worked in the dairy industry for about 18 months testing milk and yoghurt cultures.”