Share When Adelaide Hills winemaker Taras Ochota died in October, aged 49, there was an enormous outpouring of grief from the world’s wine community. Social media overflowed with tributes to Taras, to his gentle but playful character, his bright-eyed surfer-punk background and sensibility, his skill at producing gorgeous wines with energy and detail using the lightest of touches. “The response was amazing,” says Amber Ochota, Taras’ wife and partner in their Ochota Barrels wine business. “The love that everyone had for him and us as a family. It was partly because he was so generous. I got so many cards and emails from people saying it was because of Taras that they’d given up their jobs and given winemaking a go. It’s so good for his children to have that record of his influence.”