Carlei Estate

Sergio Carlei, like most Italians, begun his love for wine making in the family garage as a hobby, inspired from watching his "Nonno" growing up, while running his successful chiropractic clinic in Beaumaris. Sergio graduated as a Chemist from Melbourne University in 1983 and begun his career as a chemist for the petrochemical industry. While working in the petrochemical industry, Sergio was stunned by research from a professional journal that the average life expectancy of an individual in his industry was 41 years old, usually dying of cancer. From that revelation, he decided to change his career path to pursue a career in the health sciences and Sergio graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic in 1988. Whilst practising, he simultaneously studied for a professional degree in oenology, graduating with his wine making degree in 1996. Sergio Carlei, Owner/Winemaker In 1996, Sergio was also diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, being told he would only possibly live for only another 2 years. A bone marrow transplant was a potential option for treatment, however, even after a transplant the rate of living a 'normal life' was only 30% and this included a high possibility of major organ failure. Quite ironic, Sergio was reading about this while he was a chemist!