The Alpha Crucis 2010 Winemakers' series examines the influence of a winemaker on how a wine may taste. Six winemakers were tasked with making a wine autonomously, in a style of their choosing and sourced from the same vineyard. The winemakers needed to determine several factors; the date of harvest, the technique and method of fermenting and the means of maturing the wine to reflect their individual preferences. Our goal was to explore how a winemaker would affect a parcel of grapes compared with five of their contemporaries, including whether or not gender may be an identifiable influence. To that end three female and three male winemakers are represented. As tempting as it may be to rank these wines in terms of quality, this is not the aim of the initiative. Rather, the winemakers’ objective is to make a wine that reflects their winemaking philosophy in a style they find enjoyable.

• Country of origin: Australia.
• Grape varietal: Shiraz.
• Vintage year: 2010.