Gill Sykes

Gill has been running wine appreciation courses in Australia and the UK for the last eight years. She has completed the Diploma in Wines and Sprits Education Trust and is also a qualified Sommelier. She has worked in the wine industry in many guises from sales and marketing for boutique wineries to regional promotion to wine tourism and wine writing. She has also been a manager in wine retail for the last ten years which includes her current position as Manager of the Wine House store alongside her role as an educator. 

Gill is also a judge for the prestigious London International Wine Challenge and Decanter World Wine Awards. 

Adeline Zimmerman

After 6 months working in a family Estates in Burgundy, Adeline moved to London to work for Wine Australia, a government marketing body tasked with promoting Australian wine across Europe. It was here that she became truly immersed in Australian wine.Hailing from Alsace, Adeline has been immersed in the wine industry from an early age, learning integral aspects of the business through family run a Domaine (est. 1693). 

She completed her Master in International Business in China where she focused on the Chinese perception of French wines. Keen to continue her wine education, Adeline is currently studying for the Masters of Wine.

Today, Adeline is the Victoria Sales manager for World Wine Estates. This role provides her with the opportunity to share her passion for wine with Australian trade and consumers.

Jenny Polack

OIV Master of Science in Wine Management (Paris X Nanterre, France) Assoc. Dip. Wine Marketing (Adelaide Uni)

Jenny has 30 years experience in the wine industry ranging from front line sales through to picking grapes.  She has been recognised selling a bottle of wine at some of Melbourne’s premium wine stores, teaching numerous students wine tasting or background consulting for restaurant wine lists as well as training and marketing.  Not to be too distant from the production level, she worked two vintages in Portugal and South Australia. She was the first Australian to be accepted in the prestigious OIV Master of Science in Wine Management - an international postgraduate degree in Marketing, Management and Economy within the wine and spirit sector. Jenny teaches WSET Level 3 for the Wine House. 

Kandy Xu  徐国荣

Kandy Xu is the Chinese translator of the book “Heart & Soul: Australia’s First Families of Wine”. She is a Committee Member of the Victorian Wine Guild, the President of the Chinese Wine Association of Australia (澳洲华人葡萄酒协会) and Export Manager of the Australia Kensington Wines. She holds the WSET-3 certificate and is currently undertaking the WSET diploma course.

Kandy teaches WSET Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 in Mandarin Chinese for the Melbourne Wine House.

Josh Elias

Josh Elias has worked as a Sommelier at some of Melbourne’s most prestigious restaurants including; Vue de Monde, Attica and Grossi Florentino. His current role as editor - in - chief at the much acclaimed food and wine magazine “Alquimie” keeps him busily absorbed in the world of wine.

Josh holds the Advanced Diploma from the Court of Master Sommeliers and was Dux of Victoria’s first WSET Diploma Graduates. He is currently in the final stages of working towards both the Master Sommelier degree and the Master of Wine degree at the same time.

Josh teaches all levels of WSET for Wine House. 

Simone Madden-Grey

Simone runs her own wine business called ‘Happy Wine Woman Consultancy’ providing writing, education and cellar management services to industry and private clients. Before moving to Melbourne she lived in Hong Kong where she completed the WSET Diploma and was awarded the HKIWSC Scholarship for gaining the highest Diploma mark in Asia. She regularly visits wine regions all over the world to attend conferences and interview winemakers.

In addition to writing regularly for her blog Happy Wine Woman, Simone contributes to The Drinks Business Online and Wine Times Hong Kong. She has also recently been appointed Australia and New Zealand correspondent for the magazine Spirito di Vino Asia and the US-based podcast Wine for Normal People. This, combined with her teaching and cellar management commitments keep her regularly engaged with the world of wine. Simone teaches WSET at all levels for Wine House.

Ben Knight

Ben has over 15 years experience in the Hospitality Industry with a focus over the last 7 years in wine consultancy. He has completed the certified Sommelier exam with the Court of Master Sommeliers, and is in the process of completing the WSET diploma. Ben has been running beginners wine courses in Melbourne since 2007 and is a Victorian Committee member of Sommeliers Australia and the National Secretary of Sommeliers Australia. He has had an extensive career as sommelier in some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants, including Gin Palace, Walters Wine Bar and latterly a Head Sommelier at the iconic restaurant Vue de Monde.

Ben has been published in Gourmet Traveller, Melbourne Weekly, Broadsheet magazines and The Guardian Australia and consults to a number of Melbourne restaurants on wine list selection.

Ben runs wine appreciation courses and corporate event tastings at Wine House. 

Grant Scicluna

Grant Scicluna is a familiar face at Wine House, where he has worked across many facets of the business for ten years, including looking after all our communications. Grant also writes sales support documents and wine tasting notes on a freelance basis for wine distributors and wineries. Grant has represented Wine House in numerous international trade contexts including the Jackson Family Wine Symposium in California; Sauvignon 2019 and the Chardonnay and Sparkling Symposium in New Zealand. Grant helps coordinate and teach regular events at Wine House, including our Back Vintage Wine Night and our Red Wine Classics and the B-Sides. WSET Level 3 Certified, Grant teaches WSET Level 1 for Wine House. 

Tom Kline

Tom grew up in the King Valley wine region in north east Victoria. His father was a wine educator with a well-stocked cellar and a propensity to share. Naturally, Tom stood no chance and the wine bug caught him early. He’s now the Victorian Sales Manager for the Bibendum Wine Co in addition to being a wine educator teaching both WSET and self-written wine courses. He’s also made his foray into wine show judging.