Hunter Valley winemakers Aaron Mercer and Kate Sturgess named in Wine Australia's Future Leaders program

Kate Sturgess (Brokenwood Wines) and Aaron Mercer (Mercer Wines) are among the 15 people - including viticulturists, winemakers, consultants, scientists, communicators and executives - who were selected for the prestigious program, from almost 100 applicants.

Sturgess, originally from Brisbane, and Mercer, born and bred in Bellbird, met at the University of Adelaide in 2010 during their Oenology degrees and after many international and Australian vintages under their belt, they both now call the Hunter Valley home.

Both are excited about the opportunity to take part in the Future Leaders program, which has been held every second year since 2006, with more than 100 graduates.

"Gaining a place in the Future Leaders program for me means building a pathway towards being able to enact real change within the Australian wine industry to make sure it is wholly inclusive and sustainable for future generations," Sturgess said.

"It also allows me to build a new network of people within the industry to gain insight across all aspects and to be able to better represent everyone involved."

Mercer, the former group winemaker at Tamburlaine Wines, said he can't wait to take part in the program, as this kind of opportunity is hard to come by.

"I'm looking forward to learning about leadership, developing new ideas and working with like-minded professionals to create a lasting impact on the Australian wine industry," he said.

"It's always been a goal of mine to give back to the Australian wine community, as the education and guidance I received as a young bloke working in the Hunter Valley was invaluable."

Wine Australia chief executive officer and chair of the Future Leaders 2021 selection panel, Andreas Clark, said this year's applications were outstanding.

"Almost 100 applications were received for this year's program and it was a highly competitive field," he said.

"It was exciting to hear more about the incredible skills and diverse experiences of people within our community - and it was difficult to select just 15 people.

"The 15 Future Leaders selected will experience some changes to the program compared to previous years.

"Over the past 18 months our sector has experienced significant disruption and we recognise that the skills that we need to develop have evolved.

"I look forward to meeting with the Future Leaders group to discuss how we can work towards making lasting differences and support our grape and wine community through ongoing uncertainty."

Future Leaders 2021 is funded by Wine Australia, supported by Australian Grape & Wine and delivered with Pragmatic Thinking.