Mornington Peninsula wine pioneer remembered

The Mornington Peninsula wine community is this week mourning the death of pioneering winemaker and industry leader Nat White, who passed away peacefully after a long battle with illness.

Together with his wife Rosalie (with whom he is pictured above), White established Main Ridge Estate in 1975, helping lay the foundations for what would become one of Australia's most respected cool-climate wine regions.

A founding member of the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association and creator of the region's first licensed winery, he was known not only for his winemaking skill but also for his generosity, mentorship and willingness to support others.

Over five decades, White helped guide countless vineyard owners and winemakers, sharing knowledge freely and helping establish the collaborative culture for which the Mornington Peninsula wine community is known today.

Richard McIntyre of Moorooduc Estate recalled seeking Nat's help when preparing to make his first wines.

"I said, 'I have no idea how to make wine.' Nat said, 'I will hold your hand.' He did for many years."

Garry Crittenden of Crittenden Wines described Nat as the region's "acknowledged technical leader and founding father".

"Whenever I had a problem, I went straight to Nat - problem solved."

Martin Spedding of Ten Minutes By Tractor described Nat as "a giant in the story and development of Mornington Peninsula wine" and credited him with helping create the remarkable collegiate spirit that remains a defining characteristic of the region.

Nat White was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2017 for significant service to the Australian wine industry.

He is survived by Rosalie, their children Dominic and Annalise, and their families.

A private cremation will be held, with a celebration of Nat's life to be announced at a later date.

Cheers to the whisky pioneer handed Order of Australia honour

Bill Lark, the man who changed the Australian whisky industry forever, has been awarded ‘Member of the Order of Australia’ honours in the 2026 Australia Day Honours List.

Lark helped propel to Tasmania to global spirits prominence when he established the Lark Distillery with his wife Lyn, in Hobart in 1992.

Lark began his whisky journey in the late 1980s after a fishing trip with his Scottish father-in-law, who recognised echoes of his homeland in Tasmania’s landscape. 

He and his wife set out to overturn a 150-year-old law that had long barred commercial distillation in Tasmania.

After several years lobbying, he was successful and Tasmania is now a global hotspot for artisan beverages. 

Lark was recognised for his outstanding contribution to the Australian distilling community as well as the Tasmanian community.

Lark has led the way in shaping the Tasmanian and Australian whisky industry.

“I am genuinely humbled by receiving this award and feel immensely honoured to be recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM)," he said. 

"I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the sharing and collegiality offered to me by the Scottish industry, a sentiment which is largely shared today throughout the industry in Australia. 

"Today our craft encompasses manufacturing, hospitality and tourism employing many people. I would also like to thank the many people across Australia who have helped make an amazing industry a reality.” 

Lark was the first Australian inducted into the World Whisky Hall of Fame in 2015 and he is also an inaugural inductee in the Australian Distillers Hall of Fame. He was also the founding president of the Australian Distillers Association in 2004.

He's a man who gets things done. 

Bill remains actively involved in the business and this past week travelled to Asia to launch the new range of Lark single malt whiskies in Malaysia and Singapore.

“Australian whisky owes almost everything to Bill Lark and this recognition could not be more richly deserved,” said Lark CEO Stuart Gregor.

“Bill has not only made the most incredible contribution to Tasmanian whisky but to the distilled spirits industry across Australia. His name is synonymous with great quality, integrity and imagination, and for what the New World of Whisky, with Tasmania at the forefront, can become.”

“The whole of the industry thanks Bill from the bottom of our glass.”

For more info see www.larkdistillery.com

Napa Valley wine legend dies at 95

Warren Winiarski, one of the key figures in developing the Napa Valley wine industry, has died at the age 95.

Winiarski founded industry leader Stag's Leap Wine Cellars but was also a key figure in the wine business community in the region, Wine Spectator reported.

Winiarski, who also owned Arcadia Cellars, was born in 1928 in Chicago, and was an academic track before he spent time studying in Italy and was inspired to enter the wine industry.

He was the first head winemaker for Robert Mondavi's eponymous winery in 1966 when Michael Mondavi was doing military service. 

Winiarski purchased a fruit orchard and ranch in the Napa Valley in 1970 and began planting cabernet sauvignon and merlot. He made wine from those plantings, along with some existing petite sirah (durif), and released the first Stag's Leap Wine Cellars label wine in 1972.

Stag's Leap was quickly recognised among the upper echelons of California wines, winning the historic Judgment of Paris blind tasting in 1976 with his 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. That tasting saw top wines from France and California compared against each other. 

In 2012, a bottle of that wine was received into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. permanent museum collection. 

In 2007, after 37 years in charge, Winiarski went into partnership with Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Marchesi Antinori, but remained involved.

Winiarski oversaw the Winiarski Family Foundation, which supports educational and charitable causes.

New release to honour female winemaking pioneer

When you have been in the wine business for over a century, you have plenty of stories to tell. 

Iconic Australian winery McWilliam’s Wines this week announced a new wine will honour the family’s first female vineyard manager and winemaker, second-generation Eliza Jane McWilliam, with a special release shiraz, to be unveiled this month. 

The 2018 Eliza Jane Canberra District Shiraz celebrates Eliza Jane, who, in 1902, managed the family’s Sunnyside vineyard and winery operations after the passing of her father, Samuel McWilliam. 

The wine will be the top shiraz offering in the McWilliam’s Wines portfolio. 

“Eliza was the eldest daughter of nine children to Samuel and Martha McWilliam - that in itself came with tremendous responsibility,” said sixth-generation family member and McWilliam’s global brand ambassador Scott McWilliam. 

“While John James, her younger brother, was responsible for bringing the McWillam family to Griffith, it was Eliza who returned to Sunnyside Vineyard in Corowa when Samuel died in 1902. 

"She and her two sisters took to running Sunnyside for two solid years before it was sold off.

“She even won first place in the Sweet White Wine category at the Corowa Agricultural Show with her first vintage release in 1904. 

"I dare say she would likely be Australia’s first female winemaker, if not one of the most successful female winemakers of her time.”

The wine chosen is made from fruit grown at the Quarry Hill Vineyard, just south of Murrumbateman in the Canberra district. 

It is described as "a small, dramatic amphitheatre-like vineyard with very thin soils primarily composed of granite."

The fruit was hand-picked in the early morning, then transported to the Hanwood winery in Griffith, where it was cool stored overnight before processing the next morning. 

The winemaking saw 50% whole clusters included in the open fermenter for lifted aromatics. 

The juice was fermented for 14 days on skins and the wine was pressed off and transferred to French oak puncheons for 10 months on fine lees. 

Just 25% new oak was used, with the remainder second and third fill. 

I'm told a bottle is on the way, so will update with my tasting notes. 

“This is a modern, cool climate, shiraz. It is beautifully concentrated and fresh," McWilliam said. "I can’t think of a better wine to honour someone so prominent in our family tree.” 

The bottle is labelled with Eliza Jane’s name and signature and will be available through wine retailers and McWilliam’s online cellar door for $100.

See www.mcwilliams.com.au.

Meet a wine man who was ahead of his time

It is 40 years since Mornington Peninsula wine industry pioneer Garry Crittenden, along with family and friends, planted two hectares of vines in one weekend at Dromana and doubled the total amount of vines planted on the peninsula.

Today, of course, the Mornington Peninsula is regarded as one of Australia's premier cool-climate vineyard regions, known around the world for the quality of its pinot noir and chardonnay.

Earlier this month the Crittenden family celebrated 40 years of their involvement in wine on the Mornington Peninsula and reflecting on the dedication of founders Garry and and the late Margaret Crittenden, who died a couple of years ago.

"Why 40 years?" asks my old friend Garry. "Well as I’m in my 80th year now its statistically unlikely that I’ll be around to do 50."



To mark the milestone, Crittenden Estate has released a special pinot noir (above).

When I first started writing about wines in the 1980s, Garry Crittenden was waxing lyrical about not only the Mornington Peninsula, but also the huge potential for Italian grape varieties in Australia.

He was right on both counts.

Today, Crittenden Estate, as the business is now known, is still a family affair and is run by winemaking son Rollo and his sister Zoe.

Garry Crittenden was the first winemaker in Australia to commercialise Italian wine varieties, and was also a pioneered of sustainable farming and regenerative practices, eschewing synthetic chemicals and using only biological farming methods to restore and maintain the health of the soil.

If you visit, you will almost certainly be shown, with pride, the giant compost heap.

Nowadays Garry Crittenden is semi-retired but sill emails regularly and acts as an ambassador for the business.

"In commemoration of that historic time in 1972, I have made a batch of 2021 pinot labelled “40 YEARS ON “," he says.

It's a fine wine that appeared on my doorstep recently, along with some other wines marking important milestones.

Beginning from the early 1980s Garry's late wife Margaret diligently collected press clippings about the Mornington Peninsula wine industry.

In recent years Garry resurrected these clippings and collated them into a book. See here.

The Crittendens have always been among the most generous people in the wine industry. Let's raise a glass to them.

# Tasmanians may be interested to know that Garry Crittenden, along with Tony Jordan and Bill Casimaty, was responsible for planting the Tolpuddle vineyard - perhaps the state's most globally famous vineyard - back in 1988, when the modern Tasmanian wine industry was in its infancy.