MEDIA RELEASE: 12 March 2025
Wine Industry Mentor Program 2025 ~ Applications now open
Applications opened today, 12 March, and will close on 6 April 2025.
The Wine Industry Mentor Program — the initiative aimed at boosting the personal and professional development of future generations of Australian wine industry employees – is back in 2025! Since its launch in 2019, this successful program has seen more than 260 Mentees receive one-on-one mentoring from leaders across the supply chain of the Australian grape and wine sector and is now seeking another group of early career wine professionals to take part.
Applications are welcomed from across the grape and wine community; from viticulture to winemaking, research to logistics, marketing to sales, and media, and more.
This structured mentoring program will run over six months from June to November 2025 and will feature a calendar of Mentor meetings and professional development sessions. This will be supplemented with a range of resources through the program’s world-class online mentoring platform, as well as access to industry-specific information to help address the specific needs of Mentees.
Managed by Wine Communicators of Australia and supported by The University of Adelaide, Wine Australia, the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology and the Wine Industry Suppliers Association, the Wine Industry Mentor Program gives successful applicants the opportunity to connect with like-minded people to help build capability across the sector and foster a spirit of collaboration.
New to 2025!
- In the middle of your career and not sure if you would benefit more from being a Mentee or Mentor?
In 2025 you could be able to do both as a small group of applicants will be selected to be a Mentor/Mentee. This means a mid-career applicant and/or a previous successful Mentee, could act as a Mentor for a person at the beginning of their wine career, and also as a Mentee to a more senior Mentor to assist them in further development.
- Interested in expanding your network even further and gaining some international experience?
This year, for the first time, the Wine Industry Mentor Program will be offering a small number of matches with International Mentors from the USA, UK and NZ.
Benefits for participating Mentees have included career progression, opportunities to expand networks, developing confidence, and taking on leadership or other professional development pathways, as well as fostering a renewed commitment amongst participants to their region, role, and opportunities for future success.
As 2024 participant Tim Blair commented on his experience, “The mentorship program has been a transformative experience, enabling me to connect with an incredible mentor who provided invaluable guidance and support, significantly influencing my career and perspective within the industry.”
Mentors also benefit from the program, with over 40 well-known wine industry experts having already volunteered to participate in 2025, including Andrew Margan (Margan Wines), Samantha Connew (Stargazer Wines), Gill Gordon-Smith (wine educator) and Marianne Duluk (Department of State Development).
2024 Mentor Fiona Findlay of Voyager Estate said, “It was a pleasure to work with my Mentee, who was very responsive to our sessions. I also gained valuable experience and enjoyment from the process.”
Mentee and Mentor applications are made through the Wine Communicators of Australia website here: https://winecommunicators.com.au/education/wine-industry-mentor-program/