The Oenophile

Who is The Aussie Oenophile? I am Kristy Schmidt, a woman in her mid-30’s, who currently lives in Perth, Western Australia (although the location is sometimes subject to change!). If there is one thing that everybody knows about me, it is that I have a fascination and affection for wine. A long chain of events throughout the course of my life have carved a path which has ultimately led me to here, creating this website and blog, which I hope you will enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing.

Strangely enough, I was not raised in a household where wine was a prominent part of my upbringing. My parents barely consumed wine, mostly I remember my mother drinking Black Bottle Brandy, and my father drinking Scotch Whiskey. I barely remember seeing any wine in the house, unless it was something sparkling in order to celebrate a special occasion. So I was surprised to learn, only several years ago, that my grandfather, Jack, worked in the Australian wine industry for 40 years of his life. He passed away when I was 12, and I had always assumed he was a policeman, like the rest of the men in my family. To learn that he worked for our Aussie icon, Penfold’s Wines, as Cellar Manager for 40 years was a special thing. I felt, although I didn’t know him well, that we had a certain bond, having worked in the same industry.

Luckily for me, I happened to fall into the wine industry at the age of 27, working for one of the top ten wine producers in the country. This threw me in at the deep end, and I was exposed to a multitude of wine varieties, and started exposing my palate to the world of wine. A love of the industry grew from that first job, and since then, I have worked for both large and small wine producers across the country. Employed in several different capacities, I have worked in wine wholesale, retail, export sales, export marketing, and trade and consumer marketing. This has given me a very broad overview of the wine industry as a whole, and a view of both sides – from the producer’s point of view, to understanding what wine consumers look for when making that all-important decision when selecting a bottle of wine.

With an insatiable thirst for knowledge (and wine, of course), I have undertaken a Bachelor of Wine Marketing through the University of Adelaide, and am pretty dedicated to educating myself through wine courses, and my bookcase is jam-packed with books relating to wine! The wine sensory component of my degree continued to expose my palate to new and previously unexplored wines, which led to the realization that tasting wine, and writing about it was a skill that I wanted to enhance, and with a little prodding from a family member, led me here, to this blog, where I am writing what you are reading today.

Today, apart from spending time writing content for this website and blog, I am also a freelance wine writer for several publications, and am the regular wine contributor for www.southwestlife.com.au. I assist a very good independent retailer in Perth to sell the excellent range of wine that they have on the shelves, and also dabble in Wine Marketing consulting. The future is looking good, with an ever expanding world of wine to explore, and I will be sure to keep you updated with all of my developments!

I hope that you enjoy the website and its content. I welcome any feedback that you have, and encourage you to get involved, and have your say about anything you see here. And if you want to contact me regarding writing, selling, or marketing, please feel free to get in touch.

Now get out there and start tasting!