Our Story

Raquel’s approach to wine is shaped by both formal training and lived experience.

She studied horticulture, viticulture and wine science through Charles Sturt University, bringing technical knowledge together with a lifelong interest in plants, soil biology and the sensory science of wine.

Before founding Weathercraft, Raquel spent more than a decade in Melbourne’s legal industry. It was work that demanded precision, judgement and close attention to detail. Those qualities now carry through to every decision she makes in the vineyard and winery.

As both viticulturist and winemaker, Raquel works across the full life of the wine. From soil health, canopy management and picking decisions through to fermentation, élevage and bottling.

This gives Weathercraft a rare level of continuity.

The person growing the fruit is also the person making the wine.

As both viticulturist and winemaker, Raquel works across the full life of the wine. From soil health, canopy management and picking decisions through to fermentation, élevage and bottling.

This gives Weathercraft a rare level of continuity.

The person growing the fruit is also the person making the wine.

Raquel’s story with wine began long before Weathercraft.

Raised between Melbourne and East Gippsland, her weekends and school holidays were spent helping her father in the family market garden. Food was part of daily life. It was planted by hand, watched through the season, picked at its peak, cooked with care and shared around a table.

Her father’s interest in biodynamic farming shaped the way she saw the land. He taught her that healthy soil matters, and that what happens below the surface affects everything above it.

For Raquel, soil, season and flavour were always connected. It was an early education in horticulture, but also in care, timing and attention.

That thinking continues at Weathercraft today.

Raquel sees the vineyard as a living system, not a production line. Her work is grounded in biological farming, vine balance, soil health and long-term resilience.

Because good wine does not begin with technique alone.

It begins with the way the land is farmed.

Beechworth is rightly known for Chardonnay, and Raquel is committed to making wines that add to that reputation. Her chardonnay brings a finer, more feminine edge to the region’s benchmark style: textural, structured and restrained, with power carried through line, detail and elegance.

But she also believes Beechworth has a wider story to tell.

Inspired by her Spanish heritage, Raquel is a strong advocate for Iberian varieties in the region, particularly albariño and tempranillo. At Weathercraft, these are not side projects. They are part of a considered belief that the right variety and clone, grown on the right site, can expand what Beechworth is known for.

That belief was not always shared. When Raquel planted albariño in Beechworth, the decision was met with some scepticism. She backed the site, the variety and her own judgement.

Today, Weathercraft remains the first and only vineyard in Beechworth to grow Albariño. It was also the first vineyard in the region to plant Tempranillo clones from Ribera del Duero and make wine from them.

In 2025, her Weathercraft Albariño was awarded Top Gold receiving the Trophy for Best Iberian White Wine Variety at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. For Raquel, the award was more than recognition. It was a reminder that conviction, when grounded in knowledge of site, can open new ground.

Raquel’s work in wine has always sat close to her love of language, food and the table.

Fluent in three languages, she brings a wider cultural perspective to her work, from Iberian varieties in the vineyard to writing, food and the table.

In 2025, Raquel entered the Jancis Robinson Wine Writing Competition with A Vestige to Tempranillo. The piece won the competition and was later longlisted in the 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards, with the winners to be announced in September 2026.

Through The Winery Kitchen, Raquel brings wine, food and seasonal produce into the same frame. It is a natural extension of the thinking behind Weathercraft: that wine belongs at the table, shaped by place, produce and the people who grow, cook and share it.