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Casella Family Brands leads the way for research
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Iconic Australian winery, Casella Family Brands, is helping to drive the wine sector forward one research project at time, donating $30,000 each year for scholarships for PhD students.
Casella Family Brands is Australia’s largest family-owned wine company. Based in Yenda, NSW, the company includes the hugely successful Yellow Tail label, Brand’s Laira and Peter Lehmann Wines.
With family members among Charles Sturt alumni, Casella Family Brands is committed to showcasing Australian winemaking excellence and investing in future talent. It has a history of partnering with Charles Sturt University dating back to 2008 and offers six scholarships to students across several fields including health, science and agriculture.
In 2021, the Casella Family Brands PhD Scholarship was established to encourage the development of new knowledge in the viticulture and wine industry. The scholarship will provide students with a $30,000 stipend boost over three years and includes the opportunity for industry placement and office space at Casella headquarters.
PhD students often face prohibitive costs associated with study and the ongoing financial strain can lead to disengagement and dropping out. This top-up scholarship will alleviate some of the financial pressure so recipients can live and study more comfortably.
Colin Starkey is the inaugural Casella Family Brands PhD Scholarship recipient. Based in Orange, he is researching alternate strategies and vineyard practices for reducing the risk of grapevine trunk disease. “Ultimately, I would like to identify how we as producers, managers and operators can reduce the risks of grapevine trunk diseases while improving the overall health of vineyards worldwide.
“Receiving the scholarship from the Casella family means I can focus solely on my research. I do not have to worry about the costs of living and looking for extra work. I feel very fortunate and lucky to have received this scholarship.”
Thanks to Casella Family Brands, recipients like Colin can conduct research with direct industry outcomes and gain priceless practical experience.
For Charles Sturt, this partnership represents a positive step toward attracting and retaining high quality students to Higher Degree Research Programs and continuing to raise the university’s reputation for research excellence.
John Casella inspecting a wine crop
“Receiving the scholarship from the Casella family means I can focus solely on my research. I do not have to worry about the costs of living and looking for extra work. I feel very fortunate and lucky to have received this scholarship.”
