Shauna Bastow has been one of seven winemakers for the globally operating Australian brand Penfolds since 2019. Penfolds wines are true flagships of the international wine industry, consistently highly praised and highly awarded.
We spoke with the Australian, who now spends more time at the Penfolds vineyards in France, about her personal journey into the wine industry and the future of the global wine market.
Exclusive interview with Shauna Bastow, one of the seven winemarkers at Penfolds
Annett Conrad: Shauna, you developed an interest in wine at an early age – what exactly fascinated you back then, and how has your passion evolved over the years? Was there a key moment that made you realize you wanted to pursue a career in the wine industry?
Shauna Bastow: My winemaking journey formally began in 2013 when I enrolled in a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Adelaide University. Whilst completing my studies, I pursued my passion for the industry by working in hospitality and in local cellar doors in the Adelaide Hills to further grow my knowledge and refine my palate. During 2016, I completed my first vintage at Wolf Blass as Vintage Winemaker, as part of my fourth and final year university studies. I was then appointed as a Treasury Wine Estates Graduate Winemaker in 2017, before completing my first Penfolds vintage in 2018 and officially joining the Penfolds winemaking family in 2019 as Winemaker.
For me a career in winemaking ticked all the boxes – I liked the idea of being hands on in my work, fusing science and creativity together and the prospect of continuous learning each and every day as my career evolves really pushed me to pursue a career in the wine industry.
A key moment that made me fall in love with Penfolds wines was an internal tasting before my vintage with Penfolds in 2018 with Steph Dutton. She took us through 10 back vintages of Grange. I was amazed by the consistency and quality that spanned over 40 years. This was a pivotal moment for me that really cemented my desire to work for a brand like Penfolds. I adored the 1996 Grange back then and it’s still on of my favourite Grange’s to this day.
Annett Conrad: You started as a winemaker at Penfolds in 2019. What does it mean to you to work with such an iconic brand, and how do you approach the challenge of conveying the Penfolds character in your wines?
Shauna Bastow: Penfolds has such a rich history and it’s truly a privilage to work for the Brand. I enjoy working alongside the incredible winemaking team crafting high quality wines, not only from Australia, but California, France and China too. In my early days understanding the house style took some time, but when it clicked, it solidified my sense of belonging and understanding. The Penfolds House Style embodies all that we strive for when it comes to making wines across the globe. We’re always thinking back to the past, and what our predessors such as Dr Christopher Penfold, Mary Penfold and Max Schubert achieved, while working in the present, as we think ahead into the future and the next 180 years of Penfolds. By utilising key techniques that we have used for decades, since the creation of Grange, such as multiregional blending, rack and returning, barrel fermentation and the use of American and French oak, to name a few, we’re able to achieve consistency and quality in all our wines no matter the vineyard, region or country.
Annett Conrad: In an industry traditionally dominated by men, you have carved out your place as a woman in winemaking. Are there any female role models who inspired you, or have you had experiences that helped you step up as a leader in the wine world?
Shauna Bastow: I am lucky to work alongside some fantastic women and men in the team – we’re a really close-knit and supportive team. If I was to call out anyone in particular, our group winemaker Steph Dutton is certainly someone I admire and respect and continue to learn a lot from. She’s passionate about the industry and people and has been an advocate for pushing me to excel in my career. She’s certainly a role model for many in the industry – men or women!
Annett Conrad: Your work now spans two hemispheres – you split your time between South Australia and Bordeaux. How does this international perspective influence your approach to winemaking, and what do you take from both regions to further develop your wines?
Shauna Bastow: I’m actually based full-time in Bordeaux these days. I moved here in February 2024 to lead the team in developing our portfolio in the region, encompassing a whole range of duties including educating the winemaking team about the Penfolds House Style – or the red stamp as we call it – that is found in all our red wines. Other aspects I am working on include widening our network of growers in the Bordeaux region; this is important as Penfolds has a multi-regional sourcing and winemaking approach, unrestricted by region or vineyard, which allows us to select grapes of outstanding quality from the world’s most premium winemaking regions and make wines to our ‘House Style’.
This distinctive winemaking approach means we can select the best fruit parcels from a variety of vineyards across multiple locations – some Penfolds owned, and others owned by independent growers in the community, be that in Australia, California, or France. This has the added benefit of supporting the wider winegrowing community in that region, providing local growers with a reliable and consistent source of income through the supply of grapes for Penfolds.
Our approach is clearly different to the established winemaking practices that the Bordeaux Classification system is based upon but we truly believe there’s room for both approaches. At Penfolds, we very much respect the winemaking traditions of the regions in which we’re present; we’re simply looking to make Penfolds wines that showcase the best of these regions through a Penfolds lens.
Penfolds way of winemaking can therefore play an important part in supporting the Bordeaux region by establishing strong relationships with the many talented and passionate viticulturalists, growers and winemakers here, working in collaboration with them, supporting the wider industry in the region to thrive in the years to come.
Furthermore, combining the Penfolds winemaking approach – which is now an evolution of 180 years of winemaking history – with a region steeped in tradition and pedigree gives us the opportunity to unlock something altogether different and exciting. We’ve come to Bordeaux with no preconceptions about site and sourcing, and being respectful of the region’s traditions, we’ve shown curiosity and sensitivity. It has been the most exhilarating experience so far and is resulting in truly original wines, different to anything we’ve seen before. We’ve been incredibly grateful for the open minds we’ve encountered in Bordeaux along the way so far.
Whilst Penfolds very much respects the winemaking traditions that have existed in Bordeaux and across France for centuries, we bring an experimental culture, always asking “why not?” when it comes to trying new things in winemaking and viticulture.
We’ve always been a producer with innovation and pushing boundaries at our very heart, so our aim for Penfolds in Bordeaux is to bring our own unique sourcing and winemaking style to the region with a view to becoming an integral part of the region and its future success. Our focus is to make Penfolds wines of outstanding quality in France to the Penfolds House Style, to complement and coexist alongside the plentiful beautiful wines that are already produced in the country.
The Penfolds winemaking team is now global, operating in two hemispheres and countries. This allows twice the number of harvests per calendar year and therefore, in our minds, twice the learning. There is a ‘connectedness’ with the way that we are operating now that will fuel the sharing of knowledge between regions. We are approaching all of this with energy and conviction, which we also hope contributes to the Bordeaux wine community.
Annett Conrad: Climate change and extreme weather conditions are increasingly posing challenges for wine regions. How does Penfolds handle these climatic changes, and what innovative techniques or strategies are you using to ensure the quality of the wines despite unpredictable weather patterns?
And: Penfolds is known for its traditional approach, but also for innovative steps in viticulture. What sustainable practices and modern technologies is Penfolds employing to make wine production not only more environmentally friendly but also more future-proof?
Shauna Bastow: Multi-regional sourcing provides us with the insurance policy we never knew we needed. A philosophy that was a natural progression from our fortified winemaking era, and honouring the art of blending that has been handed down from generation to generation. Multi-regional blending allows us to include fruit for our most esteemed blends from the regions/vineyards/blocks that perform best each vintage. Of course, whilst always keeping our palate and eyes open for unique single vineyard offerings.
Penfolds is addressing sustainability and climate change with a focus on reducing environmental impact through innovative viticulture, water conservation, and community engagement projects. These initiatives demonstrate Penfolds proactive approach to making positive contributions to people, places and communities we are connected to, to create a world where future generations can thrive.
In 2023 we launched Penfolds Evermore, our first brand-led community and sustainability platform. This program focus’ on three key pillars, Community, Future Winemaking and Toward Sustainability, and supports us in delivering on our commitments to create a better world.
Year 1 of our Penfolds Evermore Grant Program took place in 2024 in Australia only, providing us with an opportunity to invest in community and industry innovations that support biodiversity and provide circular solutions to winery ‘waste’. With $200,000AUD in funding available, four successful recipients were selected, with two projects, supporting environmental sustainability in the wine industry and community.
- Mobius Farms will use white and red grape marc as a feedstock and will assess the impacts of insect frass on vineyard soil and plant health with the aim of closing the loop on winemaking ‘waste’ whilst enhancing viticulture sustainability.
- Plantingseeds Projects will deliver their B&B Highway in South Australia. Will deliver their regenerative and educational community initiative focusing on bees, birds, plants, and other pollinators essential for biodiversity and ecosystem health in South Australia, creating appropriate habitats with native vegetation to help the local pollinators thrive.
Other activity under the Evermore platform includes:
- Penfolds scholarship program with the University of Adelaide has provided funding for a PhD candidate to research a sustainability topic of benefit to the industry with research presented back and available for industry access. Completing their studies at the end of 2024, the recipient researched the sustainability of alternate varietals, particularly those that may be beneficial to adapting to climate change.
- We joined the Oenoviti International Network, the largest oenology and viticulture research community focused on sustainability and climate change. Founded by the University of Bordeaux and made up of organisations, researchers, universities and scholars, the network research topics, including Sustainability and socio-economic aspects of viticulture and winemaking in a changing climate, and presents this research back to industry for their benefit.
- South Australia’s Barossa Valley is home to Penfolds Kalimna Block 42, 10 acres planted in 1888 and considered among the world’s oldest continuously producing Cabernet Sauvignon vines. To support our vineyards that face an ever-changing climate, we have partnered with Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), to use progeny from the vineyard to create grapevines that are better equipped to withstand future changes in growing conditions, with superior fruit quality, climate resilience, and resistance to mildew.
- Working alongside South Australia’s Murry Lands, the Riverland Landscape Board and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, we support the local wetland ecosystem at our Markaranka vineyard in South Australia. This project delivers environmental water to the 200-hectares wetland in the Riverland region, bolstering wetland and flood-plain health by simulating the regular wetting-drying cycle the ecosystem relies on. The initiative continues to create an abundance of breeding activity for vulnerable and threatened species including the Southern Bell Frog and Regent Parrot.
- A range of water management practices are in place including smart irrigation sites including Penfolds Wrattonbully vineyard, on-site water recycling, alongside a regular program of maintaining and upgrading irrigation infrastructure.
- An AUD$1 million infrastructure investment was made in 2024 to install an innovative nylon vineyard canopy over our Koonunga Hill vineyard in the Barossa Valley. The canopy protects 14-hectares of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes – used to produce some of Penfolds best-known wines, including Grange, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, St Henri Shiraz, and RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz – and supports us to adapt our viticulture practices to mitigate climate-related challenges such as rapid sugar accumulation, water stress, and extreme weather conditions. This is considered a first for the industry and we have created curiosity amongst our colleagues.
- Water stewardship is something that the team is passionate about. Dam linings, storm water collection, waste water that is repurposed for nearby vineyards and community facilities like the near by golf course.
- Matching the correct clones, in some instances with the correct rootstocks, for the correct soils and the best sites is another lever we have. Sourcing that is high in altitude or south in latitude helps us with cool climate blending options.
Water is a precious resource. Therefore, collecting rainwater is a method of sustainable water management
Annett Conrad: In an era where more and more people are consciously choosing to cut back on alcohol or rethink their consumption habits, how does Penfolds manage to appeal to young and health-conscious consumers? Are there new trends or product developments that you’re observing or even driving in this area?
Shauna Bastow: Penfolds has been making fine wines with longevity and cellarability since 1844. Our wines are immediately recognisable – each has a unique persona, but their shared DNA guarantees a timeless and consistent quality admired by wine collectors of all ages around the world. A structural and stylistic genetic link cascades across all Penfolds wines, regardless of where they are sourced or made.
I mention this as whilst it’s clear that health and wellness is a higher priority for younger adult consumers, there’s still a strong demand for fine wines amongst this demographic, including for Penfolds. We’re not going to be swayed by trends into making wines that don’t fit our House Style – for Penfolds, the quality of the wine always comes first – we don’t make compromises ever on quality, nor on style.
The robust health of the brand around the world indicates that our fans of all ages appreciate this commitment to quality and style, but we also think our innovative approach also appeals to more adventurous consumers, including the younger generation starting on their journey in wine. We’re always trying to push boundaries in winemaking in pursuit of progress, and this has resulted in us creating a number of ground-breaking wines over the years, bringing delight and excitement to consumers worldwide.
For us, chasing excellence never goes out of style.
Annett Conrad: The wine industry is facing many changes – from climate factors to the influence of social media and shifting consumer preferences. Where do you see the future of the wine industry in the next ten years? What role will Penfolds play in staying relevant and innovative?
Shauna Bastow: The current challenges facing the wine industry are well-documented and within the industry, there’s certainly a lot of uncertainty at the moment. However, for Penfolds, our focus will remain on pushing the boundaries – it’s an integral part of who we are and have been for the last 180 years so that’s going to be the same in 10 years‘ time, of that you can be sure!
Our pioneering spirit and obsession with innovation means that we are well positioned to continually venture beyond. Today, collaborations have become more desirable, and a lot of curiosity has sparked from a new type of consumer. Sometimes it takes pausing and reflecting on where we were when I first started in the industry to make me realise how far Penfolds has come.
Changes that seem subtle at the time but are accumulative and impressive when you reflect back on them, demonstrates how gradual innovation can have a powerful, long-term impact.
A heartfelt thank you to Shauna Bastow for the detailed responses.
More information:
Shauna Bastow
Penfolds Winemaker
