Amelia Nolan grew up on a farm in the Wrattonbully region of country South Australia. She embarked on a career in the wine industry following a Bachelor of Arts majoring in literature and an associate diploma in wine marketing from the University of Adelaide in 1994.
Starting at BRL Hardy’s Reynella office in the international division in 1995, Nolan worked on the development of the company’s major brands in the North American and European markets which led to a transfer to the London office in 2001. After the company became Constellation Europe, her role was focused on the sales, marketing and brand strategy for the company’s international prestige brands including Mondavi, Quintessa and Ravenswood.
After 12 years at BRL Hardy and Constellation Nolan was recruited as managing director of the Argento Wine Company (AWC) which was jointly owned by Bibendum Wines UK and Bodegas Esmeralda of Argentina. She spent a further seven years in London developing Argento’s extensive distribution into 55 countries and forming a winemaking and production team in Mendoza. In 2012 Nolan worked with the owners of the AWC to complete the sale of the company to a private wine group owned by Argentine businessman Alejandro Bulgheroni.
Following more than a decade in London, Amelia returned to Adelaide with her husband and two young sons to embark on an exciting new project with Mr Bulgheroni in Australia. In 2015 they purchased an old vineyard in Greenock and have since transformed the farm into a thriving vineyard and winery called Alkina.
Old vines have been rescued, while new vines and native vegetation have been planted and the vineyard certified organic and biodynamic by NASAA. A winery, luxury accommodation and tasting room have all been reimagined and renovated from old buildings stretching back to the 1850s. Alkina’s ground-breaking micro-terroir project and first release wines, spearheaded by singular expressions of grenache, tell the story of geology, wine and terroir in a new way. As managing director, Nolan built an experienced team around her in order to launch Alkina in October 2020.
In addition to juggling work and family, Nolan enjoys cooking, travelling (or just remembering what it was like to travel) and spending time outdoors, and is especially interested in ecological and regenerative farming.
