Craig McAllister, New Zealander spent his first 20 years in Christchurch, New Zealand and then lived in London for 6 years. He has travelled extensively throughout the world. He found himself drawn not just to the wine industry, but to the wine lifestyle due to his love of cooking, traveling and being outdoors. This led him to Lincoln University in New Zealand, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in viticulture and enology.
While traveling around the world, he found himself drawn to wine industry. Cooking, traveling and being outdoors led him to received his Bachelor of Science degree in viticulture and Enology (which means study wines) at Lincoln University in New Zealand.
Craig’s passion for winemaking has taken him all over the world, from New Zealand to Australia, Chile and Cyprus. He first joined the La Crema team in 2007 as the Harvest Enologist. After gaining additional experience abroad, he joined the La Crema team full-time in 2009. He has been a steward of La Crema’s Monterey program and worked extensively on the Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. He also helped to further develop La Crema’s esteemed collection of single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. He was promoted to head winemaker in 2017.
For Craig, there is never a dull moment in winemaking. From the rush and intensity of harvest, to bottling the wines and taking them to market, he continually strives to improve quality.
