Join Molly Sheppard, Assistant Winemaker & Environmental Manager at Spottswoode Estate, in a live conversation with mentee Michael Coode, Winemaker at Rutherford Hill, in the Rutherford Hill Wine Caves, about first steps to transition to lighter glass, including key considerations, adaptations, and challenges like supply chain and market/brand perception. Lighter glass requires less sand/cullet and energy to produce, lightens shipments and often reduces the number of shipments, reducing costs and emissions. This conversation will also touch briefly on other opportunities like kegs and refillable glass.
Born and raised in Victoria, Australia, Molly Burroughs has been surrounded by wine for most of her life. She attended Curtin University in Western Australia, completing a degree in Agribusiness, Viticulture, and Enology. After working in wineries in Victoria, Margaret River, and the Yarra Valley, Molly made her first trip to Napa Valley as an intern for the 2017 vintage and fell in love with the beauty and dynamic nature of Napa Valley and its wines. She returned in 2018 and joined the Spottswoode winemaking team as a harvest intern, becoming part of the team full time in 2019. Today, working alongside Aron, Molly helps to oversee the farming of the historic Spottswoode Estate Vineyard and the making of the winery’s acclaimed wines.
Molly combines her passion for winemaking with a passion for the environment. She holds a Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy through Harvard Business School Online and, in addition to helping craft the wines in both the vineyard and the cellar, she manages Spottswoode’s B Corp certification and environmental initiatives, which includes measuring our GHG emissions as part of our IWCA membership. Molly also sits on the board of Napa Green and is involved in many other community driven environmental initiatives.
Michael Coode is a passionate and driven wine business professional with a wide breadth of experience including international winemaking, product development, facility management and global wine education expertise.
Coode’s experience spans 18 harvests across four countries and has resulted in the development of several outstanding products and brands. His experience includes tenure at the world-renowned Chateaux Margaux in Bordeaux, Paul Jaboulet Aîné in the Rhône Valley, Inglenook in Napa Valley, Inniskillin in Niagara, and Wolf Blass in Adelaide.
Integral to his success in developing innovative products and repositioning existing product lines has been Coode’s uniquely blended experience of old-world winemaking, technical background in wine research, and new-world business acumen.
Coode specializes in crafting distinctive wines from conception to market by leading cross-functional teams spanning production, marketing, operations, research, and customer preferences.
The decision to join Rutherford Hill was an obvious choice for Coode. “Rutherford Hill is an iconic winery in an idyllic location. I’m looking forward to working with such a dynamic and experienced team and learning about the many unique attributes this property has to offer as we set out to make world-class wines together.”
Coode has a Masters of Wine Business from the University of Adelaide and Bachelor of Applied Science in Wine Science from Charles Sturt University and resides in Angwin with his wife and two Labrador Retrievers.
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