Geber hands over reins at Tanunda

John Geber has appointed his daughter Michelle Geber as general manager after working for 18 years at the venerable Barossa estate, Chateau Tanunda.

Michelle and John Geber outside Chateau Tanunda

“We looked high and low to fill the position and then realised we had the best candidate within the company,” said John Geber to dbHK.

“But having the next generation coming through is always a big achievement.”

Michelle Geber, 32, who was most recently Chateau Tanunda’s director of sales and marketing, was responsible for launching Chateau Tanunda’s brand in the US where she was based for two and a half years from 2009.

Her new role as general manager will include maintaining strong international sales and growing the brand in Australia.

After 18 years of running Chateau Tanunda which has some of the oldest vines in the Barossa, John said it was time to hand over the reins. He will stay on as executive chairman, together with industry veteran, Kevin McLintock.

“It is emotional, when you’ve been so hands on for so long,” said John.

“This is a much bigger ship than just running one of our smaller wine businesses such as our Cowra Estate Vineyard and Cellar Door.”

Chateau Tanunda was built in the late 1880s and home to some of the earliest plantings of vines in the Barossa Valley, dating back to the 1840s.

One of Australia’s oldest and largest estates, Chateau Tanunda has around 500 acres of vineyards and is active in 44 export markets worldwide.