Winemaker, Yarra Valley
Victoria
Martin Williams is a winemaker, based in the Yarra Valley near Melbourne.
After studying Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Sydney, Martin completed an MSc in Oenology and Viticulture at the University of California, Davis in 1991. By this stage he had travelled and worked in various wine regions of Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States, accumulating broad-ranging winemaking experience before settling in the Yarra Valley, with Tarrawarra Estate, in 1992. From 1995-97, Martin oversaw the initial expansion of his family’s Tarraford Vineyard from 2.5 ha to 10 ha, and he currently lives on the property.
From 2000 until 2007, Martin was a partner and director of Master Winemakers, a premium contract winemaking facility situated on the edge of the Yarra Valley. Meanwhile, he oversaw vineyard establishment and winemaking for Caledonia Australis, the burgeoning South Gippsland Pinot Noir and Chardonnay estate. In the background, Martin worked on his own Métier and Milkwood brands, pioneering single-vineyard designated Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz in the Yarra Valley and southern Victoria.
In February 2007, following the sale of the Master Winemakers winery to Hardy’s, Martin took a brief break from wine to start a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at Monash University. Since completing his doctorate in 2012, Martin has continued in research and returned to winemaking, for Tallarook Wines, in 2015.
In 1999, Martin passed the Master of Wine examination. He attended the AWRI Wine Judging course the same year, and was a Scholar in the Len Evans Tutorial Programme in 2002. He went on to accumulate extensive Wine Show judging experience at major capital and regional shows, including the SIWC, from 2000.