We consider our staff extended family and are incredibly grateful to have such an exceptional team.
“It takes a village”, they say, and in our experience that’s the absolute truth. Our village may be small, but it’s amazing what a tight knit team can achieve. Kristen, Georgia and Olivia work tirelessly in our Cellar Door to give our customers a great tasting experience. Lauren keeps the wheels turning, managing the office and supporting Sam in all his sales ventures. Kelsey, Sam’s wife, looks after the direct to consumer sales, events and marketing. The winemaking team is headed by Michael with Adam assisting and Sam helping during vintage. Together under Sam’s leadership our Whistler Family works hard to create exceptional experiences and delicious wines.
Sam Pfeiffer
Owner | Director
Although Sam’s focus is slinging wine (sales), he started out in the wine industry working vintages in the Barossa at Peter Lehmann, Yalumba and abroad in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys, California as well as in Marlborough, New Zealand.
His love for people is what eventually lead him into sales which began in fine wine liquor stores and evolved into representing brands such as Bollinger Champagne, Henschke, Petaluma and Oyster Bay here in Australia and in Canada.
Now at Whistler, in addition to looking after all sales streams including export, domestic, cellar door, and direct to consumer, Sam oversees everything from operations and logistics to marketing and business development. Sam still gets his winemaking fix during vintage and jumps at any opportunity to help in the winery!
Michael J. Corbett
Winemaker
Fair to say that Michael J. Corbett has crammed a lot of experience into his winemaking career thus far, working 26 vintages across 13 regions in four countries – New Zealand, Australia, France and the USA. To name only a few, some of Michael’s career influencers have included time working at Ta Mata Estate (Hawkes Bay, NZ), Tyrrells (Hunter Valley, Australia) and Francois Lurton (Roussillon, France). These have all contributed to Michael’s notable ability to deliver a dynamic and modern twist on traditional styles.
Starting with great fruit is naturally critical, but beyond the hard work in vineyard, the layers of subtle complexity and detail that characterise the wines are built with a panoply of methods. Complexing ferments in various ways; judicious use of skin contact, both brief and significantly extended; vessels of many shapes and sizes for fermentation and élevage; and an almost religious adherence to a no-fining and no-filtration policy, result in wines of uncommon complexity, texture and unforced character.
Join Our Family
We’ll be in touch with new & limited releases, winery updates and exclusive offers. Watch for the Purple Hands invite and come pick & foot stomp the next vintage of our Shiver – Shiraz.