Louis Schofield spent a decade working in fine wine retail and as a sommelier at some of the world’s best restaurants, such as Jock Zonfrillo’s acclaimed Orana in Adelaide. He was happy in that world; winemaking was never part of his plan. As he put it, “There are enough people making shitty wine without me doing it too. But it was really Taras [Ochota] that gave me the confidence to have a crack.”

Indeed, it’s one thing to love wine, and another thing entirely to make it, but training under Taras was a surefire choice. Worlds Apart Wines was launched in 2017 by Louis and his fiancé, Hannah Jeffrey, with the simple goal of making thoughtful wine that tastes good. Their wines would technically be considered natural, with no additives but minimal sulfur, but they don’t get hung up on dogma. “We definitely aren’t trying to reshape perceptions of wine,” Louis says. “We’re trying to draw on the best parts of ‘natural wine’ and whatever it is you call the other kind of wine, to make wine that is pure, vibrant, speaks of place and variety but most importantly is yum.”

Louis’s makes light to medium bodied wines from Southern Australia, inspired by great Burgundies and “cult producers” from Europe and Australia. The handful of varieties he works with, ranging from Nero d’Avola to Riesling, allows for some insurance in the event of bushfires, an all-too-common occurrences these days, and it gives Louis many different canvases on which to paint. His wines represent the best of Australia’s lighter, easy-drinking sippers.