← Halliday Wine Companion16 Jun · 58 min

Inside Henschke: Gwyn Olsen reveals what it takes to make Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone

Inside Henschke: Gwyn Olsen reveals what it takes to make Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone16 Jun58 min

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In this episode of the Halliday Wine Companion Podcast, Anna Webster sits down with Gwyn Olsen, senior winemaker at Henschke, one of Australia’s most iconic family-owned wineries. Gwyn’s path into wine was anything but predictable. Born in Cairns and raised in Indonesia, she went on to study biochemistry before discovering winemaking through postgraduate oenology at the University of Adelaide. From her first vintage in the south of France – a job she landed thanks to Google Translate – to roles at Villa Maria, McWilliam’s, Mount Pleasant, Briar Ridge and Pepper Tree, Gwyn’s career has been shaped by science, resilience, family-owned wine businesses and a love of site-driven winemaking. Now based in the Barossa’s Eden Valley, Gwyn shares what it is like to work with some of the most famous vineyard sites in Australia, including Hill of Grace, Mount Edelstone, The Wheelwright and Cyril Henschke. She talks about the pressure of making wines with such deep history, the importance of patience in the winery, and how small one-percent improvements in picking, topping, sulphur, oak and blending can help protect and elevate Henschke’s legacy. Anna and Gwyn also explore the story behind The Nurturer, a bright, crunchy new Henschke wine inspired by Prue Henschke’s experimental plantings, plus the future of Lenswood, sustainability, old vines, biosecurity and what succession might look like inside one of Australia’s most respected wine families. <a href="https://www.henschke.com.au/">Henschke</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/henschke">Henschke on Instagram</a> <a href="https://winecompanion.com.au/">Halliday Wine Companion</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/winecompanion/">Halliday Wine Companion on Instagram</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/annawebster_">Anna Webster on Instagram</a> <a href="https://shop.winecompanion.com.au/products/2026-halliday-wine-companion">Buy the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion</a>   🍷 Gwyn’s childhood in Indonesia and unlikely path into wine 🍷 Studying biochemistry before discovering oenology 🍷 Her first vintage in France after using Google Translate to apply 🍷 Working at Villa Maria, McWilliam’s, Mount Pleasant, Briar Ridge and Pepper Tree 🍷 How she landed the senior winemaker role at Henschke while on maternity leave 🍷 The pressure of making Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone 🍷 Why patience has become central to her winemaking philosophy 🍷 The story behind Henschke’s The Nurturer 🍷 How Prue Henschke’s vineyard experiments are shaping new wines 🍷 What sustainability, old vines and succession mean for Henschke’s future   00:00 Meet Gwyn Olsen 01:29 From biochemistry to winemaking 03:05 Gwyn’s first vintage in the south of France 04:57 Learning winery French and working in Saint-Émilion 06:08 Villa Maria and family-owned wine businesses 08:45 McWilliam’s, Mount Pleasant and the Hunter Valley 09:22 Pepper Tree, Briar Ridge and career-defining awards 12:17 Landing the Henschke role while on maternity leave 16:19 The blind tasting moment in the Henschke interview 21:20 The pressure of working with iconic vineyards 23:08 Small changes and one-percenters in the winery 27:41 The story behind The Nurturer 31:35 Tappa Pass Shiraz and a cooler Barossa vintage 32:39 Mount Edelstone, Hill of Grace and the single vineyard sites 35:40 The weight of Henschke history 39:31 Apollonia Shiraz and new expressions 46:45 How Gwyn’s winemaking philosophy has evolved 47:42 Succession and Gwyn’s role in Henschke’s future 54:47 What’s next for Henschke   Gwyn Olsen,