Meet the Team: Agnes – our Tasting Room Manager
From award-winning wines, to awe-inspiring experiences – and of course our crown as Best Winery Restaurant in Australia – here at The Lane Vineyard we are proud of all we offer.
But at the heart of everything we do are the hard-working staff behind our winery, vineyard and restaurant.
Today, we are launching a new series, Meet the Team, where we will profile the fabulous faces who work here at The Lane Vineyard. Some you may recognise from your visits to our estate, others have more behind-the-scenes roles, but all are important cogs in the wheel.
First, let us introduce you to Agnes, our Tasting Room Manager. Many of you may know Agnes from your visits to our estate, sharing her wine knowledge and inspiring you to try new varietals. But many of you may not know about her former media career.
Agnes, how did you end up working for The Lane Vineyard?
I am a former Polish daily newspaper journalist who also spent five years working as a PR manager for a leading Polish wine distributor. In Poland, I organised the largest wine event in Poland, Love Wine Festival, with wine tastings, master classes and face-to-face meetings with leading European sommeliers (such as Primum Familiae Vini, an international association of some of the world’s finest wine-producing families from France, Germany, Italy, etc). It was all about building wine culture in Poland.
But, just like Alice in Wonderland, I had always been curious about what was on the other side of the looking glass. In 2018, I moved to the other end of the world – to Australia – changing my corporate office for the best job in the world, a Tasting Room Manager at The Lane Vineyard.
What is your favourite wine from The Lane Vineyard?
The 2021 Provenance Syrah. A cool-climate wine that proves you “can have your cake and eat it too”. It’s powerful, intense like Australian Shiraz, yet delicate like European Syrah. Its velvety structure, firm tannins and aromas of marjoram and violets sometimes evoke my nostalgia for my homeland.
What’s your favourite dish from our restaurant?
The Gathering Experience – a miniature degustation-style wine tasting that showcases the harmony between food and wine. It’s all about understanding how interesting the marriage between food and wine can be. It is like an adventure, showing us the connection between eating, celebrating and discovering local ingredients and terroir of the Adelaide Hills. It can change our perception of wine varieties, break the rules, and surprise us.
What’s the best thing about working at The Lane?
I love to share my experience, passion and knowledge both of Australian and European wines… and I still feel that there is so much to learn and explore. Each tasting is like making new friends, discovering new horizons and conquering new summits.
Something we may not know about you…
What you might not know about me…. is the fact that after hours I am working for Polish Radio 357. It is the world’s largest community-funded media project. As a news correspondent covering all of Australia, I am often trying to explain how to live upside down: why kangaroos are not always friends with winemakers, parrots are better than the loudest alarm clock and in every flock of sheep it is better to have an alpaca instead of the black one.
Come visit Agnes in our Tasting Room today – book here.