Jason Amos, Lallemand

Title: Commercial Director – Oenology (Oceania & UK), Lallemand

Location: Mount Compass, South Australia

Years in Industry:
I originally started in 1999 as the Quality manager for a contract bottler in the Hunter Valley, Australia, after deciding I needed a career change from testing bodily fluids and growing cultures in a Pathology lab in Newcastle.

My Top Three Challenges to Wellness:
How to find the right balance between family, work and your well-being.
You need to keep each bucket full, and the pendulum typically only works with two of them. You either balance yourself and work, then family falls behind, or you balance family and work, and your mental/physical health falls behind. This three-way pendulum is dynamic and constantly moving. You continue to develop, learn, make mistakes, and equally adjust. It is always fluid.

Over the last 16 years I have travelled to 33 countries and >150 cities worldwide, sharing my knowledge of wine microbiology and managing the business and people I am responsible for. I thoroughly enjoy my role, company and the people I work and collaborate with across the wine sector.

Each year I spend approximately 130 nights away from home, with >70% outside Australia and >20% outside South Australia. That equates to at least 130 dinners, mostly hosted, with different people in every city, all wanting to show you the local specialty, favourite restaurant, favourite wines and wanting to have a good time. As the years go on, it becomes harder on your wellness and you need to ensure you make time to look after yourself.

The challenge here is as you move from city to city, you meet new people, reengage with great friends and your body is the constant.

As time goes on you also realise that you need to look after yourself first, then family, then work.

How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:
When I am travelling, I always pack the running shoes and shorts. The best way to beat jet lag is sunlight, healthy eating and exercise. If you can't, go for a run, go for a walk. It is the best way to explore and see a new town. The challenge with work travel is you are always overindulging in the local foods and have a full glass of wine to consume and taste from all around the world.

When I am at home, I need to be present and engaged with the family at home. Three years ago my wife and I purchased a 10-acre hobby farm in Mount Compass, South Australia. I genuinely love every weekend at home and cannot wait to define my job list for the property on a Friday night. There is no boarding pass, Teams meeting or spreadsheet in sight! My weekends are spent fixing fences, growing our native garden, watching the birds, breathing the cold air and seeking better ways to improve my soil and barley/lucerne crop which feeds my four cows. We have two heifers and two steers. We will breed the ladies, borrowing the neighbour's bull. One of the steers will go to the market and the other one will go to my freezer. I spend my time educating my teenage kids that meat doesn’t just come from a plastic pack in the supermarket and that they can only have a bath when the rainwater tanks are full and overflowing.

Prior to moving to Mount Compass, I diverted my wellness energy to cycling. I still love to get on the bicycle and breathe the fresh air. However, this time has been shifted to being at home with the family and on the farm.

What Inspires Me:
Making a difference and helping people get the best out of themselves. This can be either personal or professional.

To succeed at work, you need to work together as a team, engage, listen and have empathy.

To succeed as a family, you need to work together as a team, engage, listen and have empathy.

A Quote I Love:
"When you're good to others, you're best to yourself." - Benjamin Franklin

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