Sarah Crowe is the acclaimed winemaker at Yarra Yering, one of the Yarra Valley’s most prestigious wineries. Since joining Yarra Yering in 2013, she has elevated the winery’s reputation, crafting elegant, expressive wines that honor the region’s terroir. Read more about Sarah in my new Interview with Winemaker Sarah Crowe of Yarra Yering.

Was there a moment that you remember when you knew that you wanted to be a winemaker?

It wasn’t something I ever set my mind to. I studied viticulture and only went into the winery to help with harvest. I loved the work in the winery, the physicality of it and working with nature and a raw product that you put through fermentation and you make a delicious (hopefully) drink. I ended up staying in the winery and after about 2 years I was having my performance review and the Senior Winemaker said “I think we should formalize what you have become and call you Assistant Winemaker”. I hadn’t really thought about it until that moment. I was just enjoying the work, I was inquisitive but also hard working. That was when I realized, this was what I was now.

What was your first wine job?

My first career was horticulture and I thought how different can viticulture be? So, I went to work in the vineyard at Brokenwood for a while just to see what it was like. Cold in winter and hot in summer sums it up! As someone who switched into winemaker later in your career, how were you taught? On the job mostly or that was the most valuable. I studied a Bachelor of Applied Science in Viticulture, the formal science part of winemaking was more observational than theory. My early years at Brokenwood exposed me to many wines of the world; Australian and International, and I was lucky enough to have a lot of conversations with some of Australia’s most renowned winemakers when they visited.

As a winemaker you taste (and spit) lots of wine, what wine do you feel bad about spitting because you love it so much?

That never crosses my mind really. I’m more likely to spit out water accidentally, it’s almost a reflex action. I sometimes swirl my water out of habit. If I had to choose one it would be sparkling because the bubbles actually make spitting more difficult.

What was one of the biggest mistakes you have made in your winemaking career?

I once pumped a wrong barrel into a blend, it meant we didn’t bottle that wine as a single vineyard wine. I was devastated. You only do that once.

Who has been the most influential mentor in your career?

It would have to be PJ Charteris. He has his own wine brand today; Charteris Wines. He was the Senior Winemaker at Brokenwood and took a young cellar hand and made her his Assistant Winemaker. At the time he had other, more qualified options in front of him. We are indifferent states now but keep in touch
regularly, we were talking just yesterday about our respective harvests and how they were going.

What is something you’d like to share about The Yarra Valley that many consumers may not know especially since many of my readers are American?

It is a very diverse region, the climate and varied aspects and elevations across the valley mean we can grow a vast range of varieties and make many styles of wine. It can be hard to market the region in this way. “We have it all!”. It is much easier to hero one or two varieties and many younger wineries focus only on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The pioneer wineries, like Yarra Yering, tend to focus on Shiraz and Cabernet or Cabernet blends but also make Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

You make a LOT of varietals at Yarra Yering. Which is the most challenging to make (between the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sparkling Wines) and why?

It would have to be Pinot Noir, sometimes known as the heartbreak grape. Our small continuous vineyard is a warm site within a cool region. Chardonnay and Shiraz are very versatile grapes, we are warm enough for Cabernet Sauvignon but you could question if we are too warm for Pinot Noir. This makes our viticulture super important and the techniques we use in the winery are to heighten the aromatics and bring a lightness of touch. Some other Yarra Valley industry say we shouldn’t be able to make Pinot as well as we do.

What was it like for your 2019 Dry Red Wine to be rated 2022 Halliday Wine Companion Wine of the year?

It was quite surreal to get the news we had made a wine that was to be named the best in the country of the 7500+ submitted for review. I was super excited for everyone in our small team, it was something for all to be proud of. Everyone here played a part in that award. It takes years of ongoing commitment to
maintain a vineyard that can pull that off. Then our website crashed because everyone in Australia wanted a bottle and I was brought back down to earth pretty quickly trying to moderate between the
two contractors involved in keeping that up and running.

What is your favorite after work drink?

It’s a 3 way bet between a refreshing pilsner, a G & T, or Chardonnay is my all time go-to wine .

What is your favorite local spot in The Yarra Valley?

Barrique Wine Store. The owners, Mike and Claire Emmett are the loveliest people. He asks the local winemakers what we want on the shelves. He makes it about the customers, the majority of which are Yarra Valley winemakers. It’s a bottle shop that doubles as a wine bar, for a small fee you can sit instore and enjoy your wine of choice.

Where is your favorite wine region within Australia? Outside of
Australia?

Probably Margaret River, there are a lot of varietal similarities (Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon) between it and the Yarra Valley but climatically very different. International is probably Burgundy.

Tell us something that would surprise people about you?

I can’t stand bananas, mostly the smell but also the texture.