Our Winemakers

The Cumulus winemaking philosophy are founded on wine growing principles. That is, the wines should have balanced, bright fruit flavours that are an expression of the vineyard estate in which they are grown. To allow this expression of fruit flavour, the wines must have an elegant structure and never be over ripe or broad.

Debbie Lauritz – Senior Winemaker

Winemaker Debbie Lauritz is a passionate, cool-climate specialist. Having made wine in the cool regions of Alsace in France, Marlborough in New Zealand and Niagara in Canada, Debbie is now crafting fine wines in Orange, NSW where she is revelling in the combination of high-altitude and cool-climate grape growing.

"An absolute belief in cool-climate viticulture and winemaking brought me to Orange . With the altitude and resulting intense UV sunlight I can produce a very different style of wine to that from typically warmer wine regions in Australia. And it’s a style that I love; generosity of fruit, touches of spice and an elegant, well-balanced structure," explains Debbie.

A 2002 Oenology graduate from the University of Adelaide, Debbie worked alongside Winemaker Phillip Shaw at Cumulus for two vintages, before taking over the reins in late 2008. With a 508 hectare vineyard estate to draw from, Debbie believes that the ability to manage the fruit from the first hand-pick in the vineyard through to the finished wine is a unique opportunity.

Click here for a downloadable copy of our winemaker profile.

Andrew Bilenkij – Winemaker

Andrew is a proud Orange local who travelled the world before returning home to make wine at Cumulus. A graduate of Lincoln University in New Zealand, one of the world’s specialist cool climate winemaking faculties, Andrew has made wine in Monterey, California; Waipara, New Zealand; Mudgee and the Hunter Valley in Australia.