Australia’s First Families of Wine

SPECIAL REPORT

WINE PIONEERS

WINE PIONEERS

AUSTRALIAN WINE HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS – GROWING INTO A GLOBAL POWER OF CONSISTENTLY HIGH QUALITY WINE THAT CONTINUES TO ERODE THE GRIP OF OLD-WORLD PRODUCERS IN MARKETS JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE. TO A GREAT EXTENT, WHERE WE ARE TODAY RELIES ON THE PIONEERING SPIRIT OF WINEMAKERS AND ENTREPRENEURS WHO CAME BEFORE – EXPLORING, PLANTING, EXPERIMENTING AND (HOPEFULLY) PERFECTING THE UNIQUE EXPRESSION THAT AUSTRALIA GIVES THE WINE ENJOYED BOTH HERE AND OVERSEAS.

The seeds for the current crop of world famous winemakers we sown long ago. Many of the best-known brands grew from humble beginnings and from a pioneering attitude that saw opportunity where others saw dust. Many came from the field of doctors; hand surgeons, MD’s and scientific, and others were new arrivals chasing the Australian dream.

And then there was the late Len Evans, who played a pivotal role in the evolution of Australian wine, and was often referred to as the ‘Godfather of Australian wine industry’, and mentor to Sydney lawyer, James Halliday.

Here we pay tribute to those that paved the way, building great brands and wineries and igniting enthusiasm for Australian wines everywhere. The future is bright for Australian wine with these pioneers having shown the way.