Welcome to episode 1033 in which host Polly Hammond interviews Darren Oemke, this week on Uncorked.

Today, I am excited to interview a friend and one of the smartest fellas working in wine, Darren Oemcke. A straight-shooting Australian, Darren has experience in all walks of the wine world: engineering, production, technology, marketing, mentoring, teaching, whew…and in his spare time, he still manages to catch a few waves. In this episode, we settle in for a good ol’ Antipodean chat about what we love in wine, what we’d loved to see change, and even what we can learn from the surfing community. Let’s get into it!

More about today’s guest:
Dr. Darren Oemcke is the co-founder of Hydra Consulting. Hydra works with businesses of any size to build capacity through process improvements, integration of technology and building customer relationships. Darren’s PhD in engineering gives him a unique look at business process that helps Hydra’s clients achieve remarkable results.

When he’s not helping businesses reshape themselves, you’ll find Darren surfing any break he can find. As the president of Surfing South Australia, he’s committed to ensuring the future of surfing through events, competitions and education.

In 2021 Darren was appointed as an independent chair of Riverland Wine, writes for Australian Wine Business magazine, consults to large and small wine businesses, start-ups and incubator/accelerator programmes, and speaks globally on everything from tech to sustainability to building better business.

To learn more visit:
https://hydraconsulting.com.au/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenoemcke/
https://twitter.com/darrenoemcke
https://twitter.com/fomentaus


More about the host:
Polly is Founder and CEO of 5forests. She splits her time between Barcelona, Auckland, and Napa, consulting, writing, and speaking about the trends that impact today’s wine businesses. She’s an advisor to New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, host of Uncorked with the Italian Wine Podcast, cohost of the Real Business of Wine with Robert Joseph, and, occasionally, a knitter.
Polly is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she earned degrees in International Relations and French. Those studies led to a deep and abiding love affair with behavioral Economics, and her wine work is based on insights into all the crazy and irrational reasons consumers engage with brands. With over 20 years’ experience in growing successful companies, Polly knows first-hand the challenges faced by independent businesses. She approaches each client experience with empathy and understanding for what it takes to adapt and thrive in the real world.

To learn more visit:
Twitter: @mme_hammond
Instagram: @5forests
website: https://5forests.com/

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Until next time, Cin Cin!