Rob MacCulloch's first true encounter with wine was when he joined Oddbins in 1995 and encountered the heady highs and lows of all that an apprenticeship in Oddbins entailed. Thereafter he worked for Montana Wines in New Zealand, then in the UK for Hatch Mansfield, Bibendum Wines, and for Burgundy and Beaujolais specialists Domaine Direct. In 2015, he made a career change, leaving wine sales and entering wine production. He gained practical production experience around the world by completing four harvests in twelve months - in the Mosel, in South Africa's Olifants River, in Hawke's Bay and in Napa Valley. This practical experience ranged from working for a traditional family-run small estate, to a bulk wine co-operative, to a large custom crush facility, to a winery making ultra-premium wines. Rob then completed the Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology, with its focus on cool climate viticulture, at Lincoln University in New Zealand in 2017. He now works as Client Winemaker at the custom crush winery in Hawke's Bay where he had previously worked in 2016.

Primary area(s) of work: Wine production

Industry sector(s): Project management, QA/QC, Sales, Viticulture, Winemaking

Wine region expertise: Burgundy, California, Canterbury, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Mosel, New Zealand, Rhone

Market expertise: Australia, Europe, New Zealand, United Kingdom

Specialisms: Commercial advice on vinyard establishment, Factors affecting grape growing, Harvesting of grapes, Maladies of the vine and their control, Rootstocks and grafting, Structure and composition of grapes, Economics of wine production, Fermentation, Maturation and blending, Stabilisation and clarification, Processing of grapes, Blending, Bulk shipment, Elevage / maturation, Preparation of finished wine for bottling, Quality assurance and control, Distribution, Financial and commercial structures, Independent retail, Investment strategies, Supplier/customer relationships, Wine laws and regulations, Wine judging