THE AUSTRALIAN ARK – Federation to the Modern Era | 1900–1982
GEORGE FAIRBROTHER Among the most important wine men during this time was George Fairbrother, who attended Roseworthy Agricultural College with Ron Haselgrove. Haselgrove would later write, ‘Fellow students at Roseworthy of whom the one I single out is George Fairbrother, who has proved himself over the years as a wine judge and one of the few capable of assessing the qualities of Australian Brandy’. Len Evans, who belonged to the next generation of wine show judges, would, during the 1980s and 1990s, regularly recall Fairbrother’s illustrious career at industry events. After completing Roseworthy, George Fairbrother worked at Walter Reynell & Sons and then entered the wine trade in Sydney for a while. He returned to Adelaide and worked for Robert Bryce & Company, which specialised in importing materials and chemicals for the wine industry and other activities. He would begin to judge wine in 1946, just after the war, and establish himself as the most influential wine judge of the day and the only person ever to chair all of Australia’s national wine shows.
1937 MOUNT PLEASANT MOUNTAIN A DRY RED Hunter Valley, New South Wales
The 1937 Mountain A epitomised Maurice O’Shea’s genius. Wine writer James Halliday recalled that the 1937 Mountain A Dry Red would ‘live with me for the rest of my days’. ‘Ethereal in its delicacy, light and smooth, but with a soft, intense, lingering finish’, it vies as one of the great wines of the era.
. . . According to Ray Beckwith, ‘The first intake of grapes from the River Murray Irrigation Areas occurred in 1937 and was responsible for the introduction of Sweet Sherry to the market. The definition Sweet Sherry somehow offended, as we thought surely Sherry is a dry wine – but not for long, as the sweet wines became very popular.’ Most of the sweet sherries were made from sultana, doradillo, or occasionally pedro ximenez grapes. Sweet fortified white wines were marketed as tokay, madeira, constantia, or muscat. Fortified red wines, especially tawny and vintage port styles, dominated the market. Still, there was a small, committed table wine industry that referenced the wines of Europe for its aspirations.
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