Catherine will be chair of Session 7. Vineyard health and biodiversity. Click here to see more.
Biography
Dr Catherine Kidman has been a part of the viticultural team at Wynns Coonawarra Estate since 2011.
Her primary role is overseeing the technical program as well as implementing the research and development directions for the vineyards.
Cath completed her PhD with Adelaide University examining grapevine rootstocks, water stress, flowering and fruitset. This has given her good grounding for her more recent work at Wynns exploring vine water status, and the role of climate for early, accurate yield predictions, as well as other research in an attempt to understand the complexities of the vineyard environment. Along with her work at Wynns, she also enjoys her supervisory roles with both master’s and PhD students.
In 2020, Cath was awarded Gourmet Traveller Viticulturist of the Year and 2020 Australian Women in Wine Viticulturist of the Year. She is a past recipient of Wine Australia Future Leaders program (FL19) and was a mentor in the 2021 Wine Industry Mentor program.
Cath has actively represented Coonawarra as a committee member of the Coonawarra Vignerons as well as a technical representative for the Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council and is a member of ASVO.