Passing of the Baton – Calneggia Family Vineyards new Chief Winemaker
Calneggia Family Vineyards (CFV) is thrilled to announce the appointment of their new Chief Winemaker, Severine Logan. Severine has a 24-year winemaking history with the past 12 years spent developing the formidable reputation of Watershed Premium Wines as their Head Winemaker. Severine will take over the CFV group operational winemaking duties from our long standing, highly respected and very successful winemaker Brian Fletcher. Brian will remain an important member of the CFV team working collaboratively with Severine as well as developing and expanding his Brian Fletcher Signature Wine range, marketed exclusively via Naked Wines.
Brian has worked with CFV since 1988 in various roles and across many different businesses. Over that time, he has received numerous accolades and awards for his wines and has curated a dynamic portfolio of products under the CFV umbrella. He has created wines which have been selected by Qantas onboard both nationally and internationally and he is also known as the pioneer of Tempranillo in the Margaret River region. His most recent achievement was crafting the Cellarmasters 2019 Red Wine of The Year, the Rosabrook Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2017.
Brian is one of Margaret River’s most acclaimed winemakers with over thirty-five years of experience making wine all over the world. He has held a number of prestigious winemaking positions including Production Director for Casa Vinicola Calatrasi in Sicily and Chief winemaker for Evans & Tate. Although he is a household name in Margaret River and a veteran winemaker for the region, he is somewhat of a quiet achiever and prefers to stay out of the limelight and in the vineyard with his beloved vines.
Mike Calneggia, one of the owners of CFV said “The Calneggia family have a friendship and a working relationship that goes back over three decades with Brian and we will continue this over many years to come. We are immensely proud of what we have been able to achieve together and remain the best of friends. The passing of the baton to Severine will enable Brian to lessen his operational winemaking duties and spend more time evaluating and experimenting with new varieties, clones and winemaking methods which will assist in further development of Brian’s own wines and selected premium wines within the CFV portfolio. I extend my most gracious thanks to Brian for everything he has done for our family.”
About Severine Logan
Severine Logan was raised in the Loire Valley, France. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree of Oenology from Toulouse University, she spent 5 years working across multiple regions in France including Bordeaux, Alsace, Corsica and Burgundy. In 1995, she packed her bags and travelled to Australia to work vintage at Brown Brothers in Victoria. A love for Australian wine was sparked and Severine soon made Australia home. After climbing the ranks, Severine became Winemaker for both Houghton Wines and Sandalford Wines in Western Australia before spending 6 years as Winemaker for Rosemount Estates in the Hunter Valley. Severine joined the Watershed team as Head Winemaker in 2007 and has since completed the AWAC course and been a scholar of the Len Evans Tutorial. Severine is a highly respected winemaker and has judged on the French and Australian wine show circuit.
We are very excited to welcome Severine into the CFV team and look forward to seeing her at work on her first vintage with us in 2020. She will now play a very important part in growing the Calneggia Family Vineyards brands whilst building on her expertise as a winemaker.