Adam Wadewitz’s cool climate wine safari

Adam Wadewitz joined Shaw + Smith as senior winemaker in 2013, with a strong pedigree that included stints at Seppelt and Best’s Great Western. Coming up to his 10th anniversary, Adam is now a partner and joint CEO, a role he shares with David LeMire, and he’s helped drive Shaw + Smith’s evolution into one of Australia’s most exciting wine companies. Shortly before Adam joined, Shaw + Smith founders Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith purchased one of Tasmania’s top sites for chardonnay and pinot noir, the Tolpuddle Vineyard. And in 2015, the group started The Other Wine Co. as a vehicle for experimenting with some different varieties and wine styles. Shaw + Smith is currently celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Tolpuddle wines, and its expansion into the McLaren Vale region, with the acquisition of an esteemed vineyard in the Blewitt Springs sub-region. They’ve titled it MMAD – that’s M-M-A-D – an acronym of Martin, Michael, Adam and David. It’s planted to grenache, shiraz and chenin, and the debut wines have just hit the market. That’s coming up later in the interview. But given Adam is originally from McLaren Vale, I asked him how he came to spend most of his winemaking career working in cooler climate regions.