CHAPTER 17 | 1930–1938 – The Dead Dog Bounce
1933 WOODLEY’S ST ADELE CLARET Coonawarra, South Australia
In 1936, this wine was entered by Lieutenant Colonel David Fulton of Woodley’s Wines into the Brewer’s Exhibition First Empire Competition in London. It was judged the best claret of the competition. George Fairbrother, the leading wine judge of the day, wrote that ‘it was one of the best Australian reds I have ever been privileged to taste’. However, this Empire recognition did not help Coonawarra because its origins were not stated on the label. Later, after the reinstatement of wine shows around Australia in 1947, Bill Redman began winning prizes, and soon after, the rebadged St Adele Coonawarra Claret began to attract notice from wine drinkers.
1933 DOWIE DOOLE’S TINTOOKIE VINEYARD McLaren Vale, South Australia
The 1933 plantings of chenin blanc in McLaren Vale is a surprising legacy of this period. At the time, the local wine industry was taking advantage of the Export Bounty Act (1923), which had promoted fortified wine production for the UK market. When the variety was planted, it was probably known as madeira, which may explain the reasoning behind the plantings. But during the 1970s, this vinestock was identified as chenin blanc. The vines are grown on sandy soils. Could this vinestock material relate to direct importation from South Africa prior to South Australia’s strict quarantine regulations introduced after 1875?
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