Fiona Kerslake

Dr Fiona Kerslake is a viticulture, oenology and cider researcher specialising in cool climate wines at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA), which is located at the University of Tasmania.

An expert in viticulture for Pinot noir and sparkling wines, a lack of analytical methods for sparkling wine led to Fiona developing capacity in wine analytical chemistry, including introducing new detailed objective analyses for sparkling wine. She has transferred this knowledge to help support and develop the burgeoning Tasmanian craft cider industry. Fiona has been an associate cider judge for the Australian Cider Awards and judged at the Australian Fruit Wine and Cider Show and Tasmanian cider competitions.

Fiona has extensive international experience having lived in New Zealand and worked in California for E&J Gallo, the world's largest wine company. She has been invited to the UK, Portugal, France, Canada, USA, Italy and most recently Estonia to present her research outcomes to international audiences and also to learn from similar industries around the world to bring this knowledge back to share with local industry.

Fiona is a recent graduate of the Tasmanian Leaders Program and is a current participant in the Superstars of STEM program. She enjoys using her extra skills to contribute to her local community and is a volunteer at the local farmers market, sits on and chairs Not-For-Profit Boards, and sits on various organising committees for industry events.