Wine Education

Our winemaker, Di Miller, is a life long learner. After leaving school, she studied Veterinary Medicine and Surgery then went on to work as a vet in England where her dreams of being a Jane Herriot were fulfilled - she treated dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, cows, sheep, reindeer, hedgehogs, a badger, a swan and a squirrel. After spending every holiday in a wine region, she decided to follow her passion and study winemaking and headed to the University of Adelaide.

Upon graduating with a Graduate Diploma in Oenology (the fancy name for winemaking), Di spent a vintage, or harvest, in Oregon and then took up a position as an assistant winemaker in Margaret River. From there she headed east to the Porongurups in the Great Southern where she had 7 years of making wines for clients from all over the south-west. This gave her a solid education in wine styles from many different regions, and great laboratory skills as 150 wines made each year takes alot of monitoring in the lab.

Di took on the job of running Bellarmine Wines back in 2008 and continues in this role today. Di has completed the Australian Advanced Wine Assessment Course in Adelaide and has judged at many wine shows, including the London International Wine Challenge where she was pleased to note that they played both classical music and The Cure during the judging process.

Over the past several years, Di has chosen to further her knowledge of global wines and has been studying for the Master of Wine. Now, Di wants to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for wine which comes from her unique 20 years of winemaking experience coupled with 20 years of her own learning experience.

Di has also had the experience of travel to many famed world renowned regions (Burgundy, Champagne, Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Provence, Mosel, Nahe, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Baden, Ahr, Vienna, Neusiedlersee, Rioja, Toro, Ribera del Duero, Jerez, Madrid, Oporto, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Mornington Peninsula, all Western Australian regions) to taste the wines and visit the wineries and vineyards and discuss wine with her contemporaries so she can offer a truly unique and experienced viewpoint.

As with any topic, it is easiest to start by grouping common items, so you will currently find information by variety that Bellarmine produces.

We will keep adding information and links to videos on various topics as we go and we are keen to hear your feedback and any requests, please email us or feel free to contact us on Facebook.