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Our People
Trevor Harch
Purple Palate Chairman
The inspiration and driving force behind purplepalate.com, Trevor formalised his passion for the Barossa when he acquired the historic Tanunda Cellars in 1999. Dubbed "The People's Palate" for his uncanny knack of identifying wines that will appeal to a solid core of wine enthusiasts, Trevor somehow finds time to manage a thriving Queensland construction company, oversee wine production at his historic Eden Valley vineyard and spice up many a party with his well-worn series of antics.
trevorh@evansharch.com.au
John Lehmann
Purple Palate Managing Director
A former New York crime reporter and editor-in-chief of The Bulletin magazine, John's 20-year journalism career has been taken over by his interest in fine wine. With a penchant for combining regular travel jaunts with pit stops at internationally famous restaurants, John treasures the inestimable joy of a long lunch.
john@purplepalate.com
Darren Davis
Purple Palate Brisbane Director
With a family history in the Victorian wine industry dating back to the 1860s, Darren heads up our Purple Palate operations in Brisbane. His contacts within the corporate landscape have been forged over many years hosting memorable premium wine tastings. He travels regularly around Australia, hosting events for between 15 to 1500 people, and is one of Australia's few Penfolds Grange specialists. He has a soft spot for the smaller, handcrafted wines from emerging producers and is contagious in his enthusiasm.
Darren.Davis@purplepalate.com
Darren Naylor
Purple Palate Sunshine Coast Director
A former triathlete champion, Darren now runs hard making sure Sunshine Coast wine lovers get a chance to sample the handcrafted gems sourced by the Purple Palate team from across Australia. A self-confessed Cabernet freak, Darren believes there's nothing better in life than a backyard barbie with friends and fabulous wine.
Darren.Naylor@purplepalate.com
Andrew Jones
Purple Palate Maleny
With 15 years experience in hospitality and a passion for people, Andrew believes ‘Maleny is the greatest place to live.’ When he’s not playing his guitar or practicing martial arts, you’ll find Andrew enjoying the flavours and experiences that great wines can offer. He says, ‘wine is the joy of life, bottled to share.’
maleny@purplepalate.com
Sam Pfeiffer
Purple Palate Greenslopes
Hailing from Purple Palate's spiritual home in the Barossa, Sam's family have tended some of Australia's most significant vines as growers, and now produce some of its best drops under the Whistler label. Born in the Valley, Sam has worked vintages in Australia and abroad, combining his life's work with snowboarding and wakeboarding jaunts. A passionate wine-lover and all-round good guy, he's keen for a yarn on the the fact that while Shiraz is king, the world of wine can only be understood with an open mind to all things vinious.
Dion 'The Duke' Kerrison
Purple Palate Hawthorne
Lover of beers, spirits, ciders and a good drop of red, Dion manages our Hawthorne store with a fastidious devotion to customer service and great products. Having worked around the country in liquor retail and marketing, he's a keen and able conversationalist on all things booze. A mad sports fan, always up for a chat, he's a great suporter of Hawthorne's local commuinity, providing his services for events and gatherings. Drop in and see Dion. Yee-hah!
John Silkstone-(316x400)-(158x200).jpg)
Purple Palate Brisbane City
John claims to have worked devotedly for the Australia wine industry for the past four decades. But in truth for the first 30-odd years, his role was that of a consumer, albeit an avid one. In 2004, no longer content to restrain his passion for wine, John aquired a National Wine Education Certificate and established a boutique wine-tasting service, before moving into wholesale and eventually retail. It is here, directly matching people with wine, that John professes to have found his calling.
Chris Atkins
Tanunda Cellars Manager
With wine industry experience spanning more than two decades, Chris is held in the highest esteem within the Barossa winemaking fraternity. As manager of the historic Tanunda Cellars, Chris' loyalty to the region is as deep as a Barossa red. He limits himself to one glass of Penfolds Grange a year and answers to the nickname "Rembrandt" (if you say it loud enough!).
chris@tanundacellars.com.au
Jason JJ Smith
Bar Barossa's Head Chef
Our inspired kitchen king has been cooking in London, Europe and Brisbane for the past 20 years. JJ's philosophy is to create "simple, sexy, food", letting the flavours speak for themselves. At Bar Barossa, he focuses on matching his menu to the extensive wine list, showcasing the specialty meats, cheeses and other fine food sourced, often exclusively, from the Barossa's small artisan producers. When he's not cooking up a storm, JJ says he likes to "play golf badly".
brisbane@barbarossa.com.au
Nicholas Turner
PurplePalate.com Editor, Scribe etc.
Conceived in a house painfully close to Penfolds' Magill Estate Vineyard, Nicholas is a writer and wine-lover who finds himself is in the coveted position of fulfilling both of these pleasures at Purple Palate. Keeping the digital presence of this business on its toes is a hell of a lot of fun, but tasting all those wines for making online notes is a horrible chore that he wouldn't wish on anyone. If you want to make friends with him, Burgundy of either colour and just about any region is the way to do it.
nicholas.turner@purplepalate.com