Kym Carr
Australia
Kym's Wines
- Australia
- 12 wines
- 5 styles
Chosen by Angels to get back into the winemaking game after a 5 year break
- In 2015, we put the power in your hands to vote for the first ever Angel chosen winemaker. It took just 4 hours and 16 minutes for Angels to give Kym Carr the thumbs up.
- Kym's story was one of incredible talent, utter heartbreak and unwavering determination... As a young winemaker, Kym had a winemaking world at her feet. She was winemaking for award-winning wineries Vasse Felix and Deep Woods Estate, leading to a nomination for young winemaker of the year in 2006.
- A few years later, Kym's life was monumentally changed by the passing of her younger sister. Her sister's final wish was that she carry on with life, making the most of each day by working towards her passion.
- Now a mother of two, Kym reached out to Naked as she still harboured dreams of jumping back into the wine game to create her own boutique label, packed with unique wines that are happily just a little far left of field for the big wineries.
Vineyard Location
Kym Carr's Story
Kym Carr's Story
"My passion for wine began at a young age of 12 when my parents bought a block in the Margaret River region. My love of the region grew so much that I always knew I would end up living down there and decided that the wine industry was something I wanted to get involved in.
After studying horticulture at UWA I finally made a permanent move down to Dunsborough at the northern end of Margaret River Region and thus embarked on my career, working for a viticultural consulting company. I started to get itchy feet, not long after. Being only 22 and having never travelled to Europe, I approached my boss and asked him to send me to France so I could do my first vintage. He agreed and I landed a two-month job in the Beaujolais region, living with a French family in their 300 year old Chateau. My winemaking passion was discovered and I never looked back!
Returning to Margaret River, I found a cellar-hand position at Vasse Felix and stayed there from '02-'05. I really wanted to improve my knowledge and Vasse Felix agreed to send me to Charles Sturt University so I could study winemaking via correspondence. It was the best experience working and learning at the same time and my passion grew. It was there I met my future husband Aaron Carr.
By mid 2005 I was offered a wine-making position at Deep Woods estate where I met Ben Gould and his family. Ben’s dad had just sold Deep Woods but the two Gould boys remained and it was an absolute pleasure working along side them. My experience there was unforgettable and I learnt a lot. In 2006 I was nominated for the Young Winemaker of the Year award. When the Goulds finally moved on, things changed and the new owner began expanding the winery and the wines were not as boutique anymore. I decided to start looking for another job.
I started my assistant Winemaking position working with Mark Messenger at Juniper Estate in mid 2007. My role was diverse and interesting and I learnt a lot about wine. We bought a berry sorting machine and began making some beautiful award winning Wilyabrup wines under the Juniper label and Karridale wines under the Higher Plane label. I fell pregnant in early 2009 and naïvely thought that I would be able to continue working once I had the baby – surely he could sleep under the table while we blended wines? Reality set in and I realized my winemaking career was on hold for a while.
From then on, my life was shaped by a monumental event in my life – the passing of my younger sister from breast cancer. She passed away at the very young age of 30. It was a devastating time of my life, but my sister Pip’s final wish was that I carry on with life staying positive and making the most of it. As hard as it was, I took her words to heart. Before her death she became really aware of the foods she ate, which inspired me to do the same. I embarked on a food journey and changed the diet of my whole family. We now eat wholefoods, organic where possible, sourcing all our produce from local producers. I make everything from scratch and due to my winemaking background found that fermenting food was just as fun as fermenting grapes! I now run food fermentation courses, teaching people how to make Sauerkraut, sourdough bread, milk and water kefir, Kombucha and a whole range of techniques to integrate cultured food into everyday life. My kitchen is always full of jars bubbling away with lots of delicious creations. I am currently working on a website where people can learn food fermentation techniques at home.
My dream has always been to have my own label but I have never had the resources to be able to fund it. I’m super excited to embark on my next winemaking chapter in my life and involve my two “forklift loving” boys into the world of winemaking!"
Kym's Archangels
Wannabe Wine Connoisseur & Psych Nurse from Perth, WA
