David Stevens-Castro is a Semester Teaching Fellow in Wine Studies within Bond Business School. He is also a wine consultant, wine writer, wine merchant, wine judge, wine lecturer, and now a certified educator of the Barossa Wine School. From farm work to delivering university forums, Mr Stevens-Castro has given us a taste of his journey to academia.
Every semester, David Stevens-Castro sips wine, visits vineyards and evaluates new varieties with students from around the world. It's a dream he manifested as a teenager, helping out on his grandfather’s vineyard in the Chilean countryside, and in a wine laboratory owned by his uncle.
As he tasted the products of his family’s hard work, a young Mr Stevens-Castro learnt to discern the different conditions and methods that went into a bottle. On winter days wandering through the vines and over summer dinners amid the building buzz of harvest season, his passion for wine began.
“There is so much mystery in the taste of wine in all its styles and that's what is still interesting to me,” he says. “Every day, in every glass of wine, I find emotion.”
Tasting wines from new regions inspired Mr Stevens-Castro to experience the places and people behind them. “The more you get to know other experiences, the more interesting your life becomes, and it allows you to see even further,” he says. “Life is infinite, and we need to be humble and immerse ourselves in different scenarios and learn from others.”
That sentiment led Mr Stevens-Castro into a career of experiential education. He hopes to broaden the horizons of his Wine Studies students as he takes them on semester-long journeys of discovery at Bond University and beyond. While the students learn about the laws and policies that impact wine commerce, Mr Stevens-Castro says they gain their real understanding of the Australian wine industry by experiencing it first-hand. His subject involves wine tastings, a trip to Queensland’s largest winery, Sirromet, and a major liquor retailer.
“There’s nothing better than active learning. It’s crucial for the students to see things, touch things, and smell things,” he says. “A large portion of the students I have are study abroad students and for many, this is the first time they’ve ever been in a winery so it’s all new. I was once in their shoes and now I get to relive that experience through their eyes.
“It’s rewarding to watch them connect with that part of themselves."
“Life is infinite, and we need to be humble and immerse ourselves in different scenarios and learn from others.”
The fruits of hard labour
Mr Stevens-Castro was still in high school when he decided he would continue his family’s legacy in wine. He went on to gain a Bachelor in Agricultural Science, majoring in fruit and wine production. At 26, he faced a crossroads when he was offered an apprenticeship at a local winery just as Chile signed off on a Work and Holiday Visa arrangement with Australia. Mr Stevens-Castro chose to follow his curiosity, becoming one of the first Chileans to enter Australia on the visa.
“I was blessed to grow up in a really supportive family so I saw this as my opportunity to discover something new and do it myself without the help of my parents,” he says. “If I stayed where I was, my world would have stayed at 20 per cent of what I now know it to be. So I started from the very bottom in Australia.”
Mr Stevens-Castro says his determination was stronger than his spoken English as he doorknocked, resume-dropped and emailed his way into his first Australian farm job. With specialised knowledge in berries, he landed a job on a blueberry farm. But his passion for wine never ran dry.
“I continued to do wine tastings for friends I met along the way and one day when I was going to buy wines, I realised I could easily do the job of the guy who was selling them,” he says.
After gaining his Sommelier Certificate, Mr Stevens-Castro worked in hotels and resorts and sold wine on the side for eight years before becoming a wine and beverage manager. Hilton Hotels, Peppers and InterContinental Sanctuary Cove were just some of the employers he added to his resume. Through his continual curiosity to expand his horizons, he connected over wine with people from all walks of life. One just happened to be Bond University Adjunct Senior Teaching Fellow in Wine Studies Steven Knight who was retiring and believed Mr Stevens-Castro would make a great successor.
“That was an evolution of my professional career,” he says. “It took about two years to materialise, but now I get to teach and learn from students from all over the world every semester.”
“I’m always looking for new ways of improving delivery and embracing developments in education. I remind myself to remain humble and open to new possibilities.”
A new season
Entering academia brought a whole new world for Mr Stevens-Castro who was suddenly surrounded by people who had been teaching at universities for decades.
“It was a learning curve, but I also felt I brought something fresh to the role with my industry experience and the way I embrace technology,” he says. “The students have responded to my stories with curiosity and they’re excited to come to class. We taste over 50 wines from all around the world and I enjoy giving them insight into the flavours they might be picking up.”
Mr Stevens-Castro says he is always thinking about different ways to inspire his students.
Mr Stevens-Castro says he is always thinking about different ways to inspire his students.
