Quealy Winemakers

Family Winemaking with a Radical Edge

At Quealy, winemaking is a family tradition now directed by Tom McCarthy, who has become one of Australia’s most innovative young winemakers. While studying agricultural science, Tom’s interest evolved from vines to wines, leading him on a practical apprenticeship around the world.

In 2011-12, Tom spent vintage at Domaine Paul Blanck in Alsace with Frederic Blanck, an experience that shaped his winemaking philosophy. Vintage 2012 marked a turning point—the creation of Quealy’s ‘Turbul’ Friulano, a radical skin-contact wine that spearheaded the movement in Australia. Tom was helped in that first vintage by friend and winemaker Nikolas Juretic of Friuli.

His education continued with visits to Friulian skin-contact pioneers Damijan Podversic and Josko Gravner, followed by a 2015 vintage with Kristian Keber of Edi Keber. Additional vintages in the Hunter Valley at Keith Tulloch, with cult natural winemaker Jean-Jacques Morel in Burgundy, and with Xavier and Arnaud Desfontaine of Château de Chamilly have rounded out his remarkable practical experience.

Wine Tasting

Quealy’s tasting room welcomes visitors daily from 10am to 5pm at their winery cellar door. With a marquee and tables under the sun, it’s the perfect place for you, your friends, and family to stay awhile and experience wines that honestly express their Mornington Peninsula origins.