11 minute read
Family Ties
THEY ARE BOUND BY BLOOD AND PASSIONATE ABOUT WINE, ANDREW GRAHAM HAS SPOKEN WITH SOME OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST PROMINENT MULTI-GENERATIONAL WINEMAKING FAMILIES.
‘In good times and bad times, I’ll be on your side forevermore.’
Sure, Dionne Warwick was singing about friends in the original song, but the same sentiment goes for families. The greatest friends you have are your family members.
But while you might love your family, would you want to work with them?
An image from the vault from Patritti.
To find an answer, we canvassed members of prominent wine families where more than one generation has worked in the business (and in some cases, many generations) to understand how family wineries tick.
That question is particularly relevant in the wine industry, where a large proportion of the more than 2400 wine producers in Australia are family-owned.
What’s perhaps most interesting is that, despite the differences in scale, region and focus, we discovered that wine families have more in common than expected.
A GROWING FAMILY COMING HOME
The Patritti family are better known as grape growers rather than winemakers, with two well-regarded mature McLaren Vale vineyards. But there is a long history of winemaking too. When Founder Giovanni Patritti arrived in Australia from Italy in 1925 he couldn’t find the style of red table wine he was used to drinking back home. That spurred him to start making his own ‘European style’ wines that in turn proved popular among other migrants and effectively kick-started a wine company in the process.
Patritti Wines – JPB Shiraz.
Since then the family business has focused on crafting ‘drinking’ wines, diversifying into owning bottle shops and even producing grape juice in the grape glut of the 1970s, also becoming one of the first crop of Australian wineries to export to Asia in the 1980s.
It’s only within the last few years that the family has concentrated on premium local wines though, releasing products not only from their own McLaren Vale vineyards, but also from one of the last plots of vines within the Adelaide city limits (at Marion), with everything made in their own urban winery.
Patritti’s grandson James Mungall explains that it is satisfying to be carrying on that tradition. “It means a lot to me, carrying on the business my grandfather started,” he said.
“When my Nonno came from Italy, he leased and then purchased a piece of dirt. It is the same dirt we are still making wine from and using the original cellar.”
Ferngrove Winery.
Since Mungall came along in 2004, the family has embraced alternative styles too, including a Pétillant-naturel (Pét-nat) made in the family’s juice pasteuriser, a rare Saperavi and one of the only straight Trincadeira in the country.
Ferngrove’s Diamond Chardonnay.
CHAMPIONING THE RIVER
While celebrated regions like the Barossa, the Hunter Valley or indeed McLaren Vale tend to hog the limelight on the international stage, the reality is that the driving force of much of our wine remains the regions around the Murrumbidgee and Murray Darling Rivers.
Rather than cover up this fact, one quiet-achieving family winery has instead championed their connection. Indeed the Murphy family of Trentham Estate proudly call their spot on the banks of the Murray at Trentham Cliffs a ‘riverside destination’.
Brothers Anthony & Patrick Murphy from Trentham Estate.
More than just a tourist spot, the family has also built a reputation for some of the most consistent – and best value – wines in the country.
The Murphy’s wine history dates back quite a way too, with the family establishing one of the first vineyards around the Mildura area back in 1909. It wasn’t until 1984 that they produced a wine of their own, however, starting out with just six tonnes of grapes in their first harvest. Now, Trentham Estate crushes more than 5000 tonnes per year and has an estate that spans over 45 hectares.
Dining at Trentham Estate.
As family member Renee Murphy explains, the secret to this growth is the investment that comes from “keeping it in the family”.
“I think the (biggest advantage) is the high level of commitment that exists in a family business,” she said.
“You would be hard-pressed to find someone that cares about your business as much as a family member.”
That emotional investment has other advantages too.
“(In family wineries) time constraints are non-existent and nothing is ever outside your job description,” says Murphy.
“I would imagine this level of involvement and passion would be difficult to find in a nonfamily business.”
Like many Riverland producers, Trentham Estate has branched out from just making wines from the Riverland, now crafting releases from Tasmania, Tumbarumba and Coonawarra. Interestingly, however, the recent move for Trentham is to celebrate their own patch of dirt, with a whole packaging redesign that sees the winery’s labels now featuring illustrations of the view of the Murray from the estate.
It’s a small gesture, perhaps, but reflects a notion that consumers want a connection to a place – especially when that place is the banks of our mightiest river.
EVOLUTION IN THE BAROSSA
For some producers, the sense of place extends beyond the vineyard – and into the winery itself.
Built in the 1880s, Château Tanunda is a perfect example, with arguably the most distinctive winery building in the Barossa. A national ‘Designated Monument’, it’s a facility that has housed some of the Barossa’s most celebrated winemakers, and has enjoyed a whole new lease of life thanks to the work of John Geber and the success of the Château Tanunda label.
There is a new chapter starting in the business too, with Michelle Geber taking over from father John as Managing Director. And as Michelle explains, the business is already in a good place.
“Château Tanunda is an icon of the Barossa and our international success is well documented,” she said.
“We are a leading Barossa brand in China and Germany, and Switzerland. Our export strength is something we take great pride as a family.”
Château Tanunda.
There’s plenty of scope for more, however: “I would like to see more focus given to the domestic side of the business,” she said.
“The Barossa is in high growth in Australia and we are well-positioned to act on this.” To achieve that vision in the crowded domestic market will undoubtedly require investment of time and money. But are family run wineries in the ideal position to capitalise on opportunities, or does inherent conservatism limit growth?
Evelyne, John and Michelle Geber from Château Tanunda.
Geber doesn’t believe so at all. “I think, conversely, (family wineries) can be more flexible and quick to respond to the market, because we’re the decision makers and can make it happen,” she said.
“Also long term thinking is one of the serious benefits. In the wine industry, the family winery with the long term vision will always have the advantage.
“We’re not interested in necessarily following the quickest and next trend, but the authenticity and trust in building brands that last is important. (That means) investment in equipment, vineyards... out of the box thinking for tomorrow – not today’s return.”
As for the long term vision for Château Tanunda, Geber sees an increased importance for wines from the Eden Valley.
“We are focusing more and more on unique Single Vineyard Eden Valley wines (which retail for around $40),” she said.
“These wines come from our own vineyard high up in the Eden Valley, producing a cooler climate style, more elegant and perfumed. We’ve produced small quantities of a beautiful delicate Chardonnay and a silky Cabernet Sauvignon – look out for these on the shelf, they are absolutely stunning wines.”
CREATIVE INVESTMENTS IN MCLAREN VALE
It has long been said that winemaking is half science and half art – and for d’Arenberg, the investment has been in a cellar door that is a work of art in itself.
Inspired by a Rubik’s Cube, d’Arenberg’s fantastic new Cube is easily one of the most interesting recent developments in the wine industry, with its multi-story, multi-cube design a truly ‘out of the box’ solution for how to liven up a cellar door.
But now, The Cube has gone beyond good fun and into architectural glory, with the announcement the structure had won a Good Design Award, the highest honour for design innovation in Australia.
Chester Osborn at the d’Arenberg Cube.
While the Good Design Award is remarkable in itself, what’s intriguing here is that it again disproves the suggestion that family wineries are naturally conservative. It’s a structure that you can imagine few, if any, more ‘corporate’ wine companies would imagine pursuing.
What’s more, The d’Arenberg Cube serves a dual purpose as it not only is an eye-catching place to experience the wines (or eat in the fine restaurant), but it also clearly expresses the personality of the ever-lively and imaginative Chester Osborn and family.
A HOME, NOT JUST A WINERY
The other realisation is that, for multigenerational wine companies, a winery is more than just a place of business, it’s a second home.
For more than five generations the Purbrick family have run Tahbilk, gaining a reputation for some of Australia’s most distinctive wines, made from some of our oldest vines.
And according to Tahbilk Chief Executive Alister Purbrick, it’s actually brought the family together.
Giovanni Patritti (L) with Peter Patritti (R).
Patritti Weighbridge.
A party at the Patritti winery.
“Tahbilk has become, over the generations, the Purbrick family spiritual home, our core, our heart and soul and is firmly woven into our family fabric,” he said.
That notion of a winery as a community extends beyond the winery walls too – in fact, it also attracts other family wineries.
Tahbilk is one of the members of Australia’s First Families of Wines (AFFW) – as are d’Arenberg; a group of some of Australia’s most prominent multi-generational family wine producers who have banded together to help promote their wines.
Right now the AFFW have set their sights on China, with the group heading en masse to Hong Kong for Vinexpo and then participating in Wine Australia’s China Roadshow.
While it’s hardly unusual for Australian winemakers to pursue sales in China, the idea of doing it as a united front of families might prove to be even more useful than just approaching the Chinese market as individual producers.
In other words, family wineries could be more successful because they’re the part of a bigger family.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE IN THE CLARE
Another member of the First Families of Wine is Clare Valley based producer Jim Barry.
Here, there is another generational change underway, with two generations of Barry family actively involved in the business.
What’s insightful about the Barry family setup is how seamlessly they all work together, as Sam Barry explains: “The dynamic is very good,” he said.
“Tom looks after the winery. Dad oversees vineyards and I look after sales and marketing. We are all on the same page about where we are heading as a business so it’s all good.”
While that may sound like a very rosy picture, it does illustrate the immediate benefit of a family wine business – the idea that ‘everyone is on the same page’.
One of the biggest challenges with any business is that, unless there is a shared understanding and belief in the direction of the company, goals and objectives aren’t easily met. When it’s a family business, the objectives can be more clear and simply because of shared DNA.
For the Barry family that shared focus and common goal has helped make challenging projects a reality – such as, notably, helping to bring Assyrtiko to Australia.
THE RETAIL PERSPECTIVE
While a long term focus might help wineries to survive and evolve, being a family business doesn’t necessarily mean an advantage in selling wine, as Simon Green from retailer My Wine Guy explains: “For online sales in particular we just don’t see that being a family business is any advantage.
“Strong brands sell wine, rather than family businesses. And price is still king – you only have to look at the success of cheap ‘own-brand’ supermarket brands to see that.”
Still, Green believes that family wineries might have an edge at the B2C level.
“At a cellar door or winery a family has the opportunity to sell the story,” he said.
“Consumers love to have that emotional connection at the cellar door, and a sense of family would no doubt help here.” So the question that remains is – why should you buy from a family winery?
Patritti fortified vat.
Trentham’s Murphy puts it best: “The wine game is our heart and soul. When you buy from a family business, you are buying a piece of our life. You are truly supporting the ‘little guys’ and I can almost guarantee your purchase means so much more to us, than it does to the corporates.”
