WINE: End of an era for Drayton

TWENTY years after she was plunged into running her own wine company by the tragic death of her parents in the Seaview aircraft disaster, Robyn Drayton is quitting the Hunter wine scene.

For an undisclosed sum, she has sold the Robyn Drayton Wines property on the corner of McDonalds and Pokolbin Mountains roads, Pokolbin.

The 16.5-hectare site had been on the market for three years and includes 14.6hectares of semillon, shiraz, chardonnay, verdelho and cabernet sauvignon vines, a homestead, cellar door, cafe, warehouse, function room, tea house and gift shop.

The sale, through Jurd’s Real Estate, Cessnock, was to Sydney couple, medicos Cliff Hing and Lin Lie.

The buyers plan to use the property as a country retreat, with Tyrrell’s leasing the vineyard – from which it has regularly drawn fruit over the years.

The new owners will also lease out the cellar door buildings.

As one of the few Australian women to run their own vineyard and wine company, Robyn chalked up some impressive achievements. She produced a run of trophy and gold-medal wines made under contract at Tyrrell’s winery.

Her mother and father Pam and Reg Drayton were killed with seven others when a Seaview plane crashed on its way to Lord Howe Island on October 2, 1994.

The genesis of Robyn’s career as a Hunter vigneron was in 1989 when her father quit the pioneer W. Drayton and Sons Pty Ltd.

Under an agreement that saw full control of W. Drayton and Sons pass to Reg’s cousin Max and his sons, Reg Drayton took sole ownership of the Pambula Estate grazing property near Rutherford Airport.  There, he established his own Reg Drayton Wines operation based on grapes from the Ivanhoe Estate, Lambkin Estate and Pokolbin Hills Estate vineyards.

Pokolbin Hills Estate, which was previously the historic A.E. Phillips family’s Glandore vineyard, was bought in 1969 by Reg, who planted new semillon vines. 

 The death of Reg and Pam catapulted their children, Robyn and Stephen, into their own independent wine ventures.

Subsequently Stephen and Robyn each sold their sections of the Lambkin Estate property.

Stephen and his wife Tracy run Ivanhoe Wines Pty Ltd, based at the Ivanhoe vineyard on the corner of Oakey Creek and Marrowbone roads, Pokolbin.

Robyn, combining the roles of single mother of three boys and vigneron, ran her operation under the Reg Drayton Wines banner until 2006 and  then switched to the Robyn Drayton trademark.

She told me last week she felt sadness at parting with her wine business, but she and her partner were looking forward to becoming grey nomads and travelling around Australia in a newly purchased caravan.

As a consequence of the property sale, Robyn is offering her entire wine stocks at discount prices and has a garage sale scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 2. 

Further details can be 

obtained by telephoning 49987523 or emailing robyn@

robyndraytonwines.com.au.

Top of their class

ROSE Kentish, the trailblazing winemaker of Ulithorne Wines, and Singapore-based wine educator and consultant Lim Hwee Peng have been declared winners of one of Australia’s toughest wine tests conducted by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI).

Rose and Hwee Peng were each selected as dux of an elite AWRI Advanced Wine Assessment Course which put participants through a gruelling and intensive four-day program of wine sensory education and assessment.

Hwee Peng, of Winecraft Marketing and Services, was named dux of AWAC 33 and Rose, who divides her time between McLaren Vale and the south of France where she has established her own label, was dux of AWAC 34.

Hunter-based Briar Ridge winemaker Gwyneth Olsen was AWAC dux last year.

Rose and Hwee Peng will both be offered places as associate judges for next October’s 2014 Adelaide Wine Show.

Richard Freebairn, previously of Serafino Wines, has been appointed winemaker at McLaren Vale’s biodynamic Paxton Wines operation.

He takes over the post from Michael Paxton, the son of Paxton’s founder and owner David Paxton.

Michael, who had been Paxton winemaker since 2006, left ‘‘to pursue other opportunities outside the wine industry’’.

Richard  worked at Serafino at McLaren Vale under winemaker Charles Whish and helped Serafino win trophies for its tempranillo and grenache reds.

He began his winemaking career in the late ’90s in Margaret River and worked in the Swan Valley and California’s Sonoma Valley before moving to South Australia in 2003. 

There he completed a bachelor of oenology degree at the University of Adelaide, before taking a job as assistant winemaker at Jim Barry Wines in the Clare Valley. 

He also worked in the Barossa as a contract winemaker at Orlando and was a  winemaker at Farnese Vini in Italy.

Mr Mick honoured

MICK Knappstein, or ‘‘Mr Mick’’ as he was affectionately known, was recently given a posthumous induction into the inaugural Clare Valley Winemakers Hall of Fame.

He was one of six Clare Valley wine identities to be recognised for their long winemaking careers and great contribution to the Clare Valley and broader Australian wine industry.

Born into the wine industry with the then-family-owned Stanley Wine Company, Mr Mick started his career working in the Stanley vineyards. 

He became  a mentor to a number of today’s top winemakers, who still refer to themselves as his apprentices and him as their master. 

Leading Clare Valley winemaker Tim Adams was his last apprentice and celebrates the great man today through his Mr Mick brand wines.

Mr Mick retired in 1988 but continued to consult and remained a confidant to many winemakers who valued his extensive winemaking knowledge, sense of humour and willingness to help others.

In his later years he was made a life member of the Wine and Brandy Producers’ Association and awarded the Order of Australia for his services to the wine industry.