Curly Haslam-Coates, Wine Educator and Founder, Vintage Tasmania (Tasmania Australia)

Years In Industry:

I have been in the wine industry for over 25 years. The first fifteen were spent in the UK working bistros, high end cocktail bars, restaurants and wine merchants where I studied for my WSET Level 3 and Diploma. I was awarded the Vintners Bursary for my Level 3 results and the subsequent travel bursary allowed me to visit Tasmania. Two years after my visit I moved here to Launceston in the north west, and have worked across cellar doors, tourism, run the local farmers market and taught WSET qualifications throughout. 

My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:

Chronic Fatigue which been a part of my life for the last sixteen years. I get very tired and a good night’s sleep doesn’t fix things. So if I have an incredibly busy week, I know that the next couple of weeks are going to be really challenging for me if I don’t manage my energy and get lots of down time. I get sick easily and often take longer to recover. A side benefit of COVID social distancing has been that I have never got this far through Winter without being ill.

Having to battle against the lack of diversity in the Australian wine industry is challenging and such a waste. A waste of the talented voices out there that don’t get heard, a waste in engaging a wider audience and selling more wine and a waste of the people who feel that there is nothing out there in the industry for them because they never see people who look like them succeeding.

How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:

I try and manage my chronic fatigue with a weekly schedule which helps me try and balance my workload so I don’t get too run down. I have been going to Bloom Barre classes since Chloe opened the business early 2019 and it is the most incredible space for an inclusive location to embrace ones strength and fitness. It helps keep me strong without anything too high intensity.

My brain switches to only being in the moment during the classes, I love seeing how my body has changed and become so much stronger and more flexible. The music is excellent and we get to choose tracks to motivate us, swear, stop when we need to and really make it somewhere that soothes the soul.   I’ve really found a deep love for my body doing barre, something that has often been difficult as health issues have meant that my body frequently doesn’t work as it ought to, which is not uncommon when dealing with a chronic condition.

On the issue of diversity, luckily there are a few people who are ready to start making changes, but we are way behind the rest of the world. I have a few programs that I’ll be starting over the next few months that will hopefully start connecting all of the people who want a more diverse and thriving industry. WE can do diversity in grapes so we should be able to do diversity of people and roles as well.

You can connect with Curly on Instagram: @VintageTasmania , Facebook @vintagetasmania , Twitter @VintageTasmania and LinkedIn: Curly Haslam-Coates Read more about Curly at her website: www.VintageTasmania.com