Kyle Goodwin
The French existentialist Albert Camus encouraged his readers to “Come to terms with death, thereafter anything is possible.” It’s a credo that Kyle Goodwin of Knucklehead Wines knows better than most. After being diagnosed with a terminal lung illness – caused by silica dust he was exposed to while working as a stonemason – Goodwin decided to go all-in on winemaking, trading his day job as a wine retailer in Byron Bay for gig at Bent Road Winery in Queensland’s Granite Belt. By day he helps craft wine for Bent Road’s labels – La Petite Mort and Wilhelm Scream – while his side-hustle is Knucklehead Wines, a tight collection of cuvées made from chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, sangiovese, nebbiolo and montepulciano that he makes with his wife, Sera J Wright.