This is a guest post from Richard Warland. Richard has worked in and around the wine industry for over 4 decades as a winemaker and in management, sales, marketing, customer relations, distribution, and strategic development. Richard is a Roseworthy graduate and cut his winemaking teeth at Hardy’s in the late sixties where he worked with legendary figures like Dick Heath, a protege of Roger Warren.
As I recall, I was Hardy’s first formal “Cadet Winemaker”. My father was the McLaren Vale Post Master and I approached Hardy’s in 1968 with a request to work at Tintara for a year as a prerequisite for entry to the Roseworthy College oenology class. To my surprise and delight, Bob Hagley (Tintara Manager) not only confirmed agreement but advised that the company would sponsor my studies.
Subsequently I commenced at Mile End in mid 1968 and under Dick Heath’s guidance, had experience in every production facet available there. Dick Heath was a protégée of the (then) legendary Roger Warren who was a contemporary of the even-more-legendary Maurice O’Shea (See “Memories” below).
I studied at Roseworthy in 1970 and 1971, graduating as Oenologist “Number 112”, doing both vintages at Tintara. (Bob Hagley and I having somewhat of a love-hate relationship over the period. I’m sure fellow “slave” Jim Irvine shares these memories!).
On graduation I returned to Mile End where I was given responsibility for a wide range of tasks such as inter-winery blending logistics, pre-bottling preparation and quality control, charmat sparkling winemaking (Hardys Courier, Sparkling Moselle, Sparkling Burgundy and eventually “Swinger” a champagne and orange mix that was well ahead of its time considering today’s RTDs).
I also worked on a “Courier on tap” project, first launched at The Barn in the days of David Hardy’s ownership there. This project provided quite a technical challenge and not a few laughs – particularly because as a young single bloke I was “on-call” to attend parties whenever wherever in Adelaide!
I won my first Gold Medal for the company in 1972 – with a Dry Vermouth. (Simple really – I noted at the prior show that the medal winners all had a citrus hint. (Which was quite outside of the definition for the class!) – A dollop of lemon essence before the next show and hey presto! Gold! Gold! Gold! I did the ’73 and ’74 vintages at Siegersdorf (the real one – at Tanunda) with manager Johnny Fanto, sharing Basedow’s company house with Bill Crappsley (now with Sandalford).
Late in the ’73 vintage, Dick Heath called me with instructions to “make 10,000 gallons of Rose”. Using very ripe Grenache I “babied” the make – subsequently winning the Adelaide Show Championship Trophy and a score of golds (despite the wine being an “illegal” 15.6% Alc/Vol!). In 1974 I again won golds with the following vintage (Called Hardy’s Mill Rose – despite being made in the Barossa). The only problem was (as now) … nobody wanted to buy Rose!
Also in 1973, Hardy’s “loaned” me to a family friend Ken Commins, to assist Ian Hickinbotham at their “state of the art” new Upper-Hunter winery, Hollydene in the Upper Hunter Valley. Basically a circular tin shed with “Opera House” wings on the roof, it was cleverly designed…but nothing worked! I can remember filling the crusher from buckets, the new Coq press screwing its end out and me climbing into the then-new Potter fermenters, hanging onto a rope and jumping up and down until the marc fell away. (The OH&S authorities would have had a fit!).
…and then it rained…and rained…and rained! I do not know why anyone grows wine grapes in the Hunter!
At least, out of that came Silver medal for the ’73 “Dianne” Semillon – my one and only contribution to Hunter history (although I think we did process the first vintage from the Rosemount vineyard…!)
Other Memories
Favourite wines
- Hardys Reserve Bin Shiraz C896 1970 (later to become the very first “Eileen Hardy” – much cheaper under its original “Reserve Bin” label)
- Hardys Reserve Bin Coonawarra Claret – purchased in almost-finished form from Eric Brand for years.
- Hardys Delfino Sherry – I still think it is a tragedy that such a different style of wine is virtually non-existent in the Australian market today. I remember that John Fornachon of the AWRI published research papers which actually helped the Spanish improve the product!!!
- Hardys Vintage Port – another tragic absentee from our market today. The secret was the “taily” brandy spirit. I still have a bottle of ’54 given to me when I left the company.
- Hardys Old Castle (“Old Arseole”) Riesling – a curious blend in its heyday – often containing a goodly percentage of Hunter Semillon!
- And of course Hardys Mill Rose (although, if truth be told, I much preferred Jon Reynolds’s later Reynella versions made from Cabernet!)
Embarrassment
- Collapsing a tank on “Joe’s semi” after forgetting to open the top before pumping out of the bottom! (I understand that was almost a rite of passage for cellar hands in those days).
- Cutting the top of my finger off via a slipping hogshead at Tintara – I’ll always remember Des Budich consoling me on the way to hospital – “Nah Dick, she’s clean off…!”
- Going to sleep on the ‘loo at Mile End after a big function in the cellar and having to wake Jack Kilgour at some ungodly hour because I didn’t want to leave the front door unlocked!
- Stopping too close to the railway line at the Siegersdorf Road crossing in the Barossa and having Hardy’s car remodelled by a diesel engine towing stone!
- Deciding to go “on strike” against Bob Hagley when I was a Cellar Hand (those that knew him will understand!) and having Dick Heath come down to counsel me!
Pet Memories
- In my days under Dick Heath at Mile End, one of my tasks was the annual stock take and “rationalisation” of “the Museum” – a substantial collection of old and great wines in the bowels of the original building. Memories include –
- the number of great Maurice O’Shea wines I got to taste with Dick
- the 1936 Cabinet Clarets that were so ullaged Dick said “take them to a BBQ”…I did…and wished I hadn’t because they were superb!
- the pre-war red we gave to the AWRI which proved that the first atomic tests in the USA caused a measurable change in the fruit in Australia!
- the Old Castle Riesling which must have been so good at the time that more than 50 dozen were “put away” – but which I could pull the cork out with a finger nail!
- In pre-OH&S days the cellar hands had a hogshead into which “the bottoms” of every port tank or cask were deposited. This “blend” was then racked with a small diameter tube into flagons for mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon drinking (usually using peanut butter “glasses”)!
On one particular occasion I pumped out a “500” of Hardy’s Show Port 1941 – and “the bottoms” were so clear that I thought it would be a shame to lose it in “the boys blend” – so I put it straight into their “drinking flagons”. It was my first experience of “customer complaint”!!!!
Richard
