The promise of the country life and the opportunities winemaking offered lured Herbert “Bert” Kay to McLaren Vale in August 1890. He purchased the established Amery property in the north-eastern hilly pocket of McLaren Vale. The extraordinary demand for Australian Burgundy accelerated in the late 1880s and offered entrepreneurs, large and small, new possibilities. In 1891 Bert Kay, a year after purchasing Amery Farm, brought in his younger brother Frederick “Fred” Kay as a partner beginning a remarkable family wine business. On the 2nd of February Bert and Fred Kay, along with their sister Rose, took possession of Amery Sections 514,515,516 and 740. Within a few weeks they sourced 60,000 cuttings from Thomas Hardy’s Tintara Vineyard and a few months later, 40,000 Mataro cuttings from neighbouring Hope Farm. Zante Currant for dried fruit production was also sourced from Thomas Hardy’s currant vineyard at McLaren Flat, managed by Richard Cooper. The following year the brothers planted the 52-acre Hillside Vineyard (Mataro, Shiraz, Cabernet, Carignan with smaller areas of currants, Doradillo (for distillation) and Muscat. As demand grew, new vineyard blocks were established. A winery was constructed in 1895 using John Kelly’s “down the slope” approach – the design allowing gravity flow of grapes from the crusher into fermenters and then down into storage vats and barrels below. Clearly, the family was receiving the best advice available. Thomas Hardy, who paid a visit to Amery in 1895 took away a sample of the first wines. And in 1896, 20 hogsheads of dry red wine were ordered. Typically, the wines were deeply coloured, full bodied and rich in tannins. By 1897 Peter Bond Burgoyne was purchasing bulk wine from Kay Brothers. On the 6th of December that year, 132 hogsheads were despatched. This trade increased over the forthcoming years as Kay Brothers’ production was further boosted by grower-purchased fruit. The Emu Wine Company’s Walter Bagenal also purchased bulk wine for its expanding Emu Burgundy brand. A 1903 photograph shows the handsome Cuthbert Burgoyne (PB Burgoyne’s son) and the marvellous Walter Bagenal sitting with McLaren Vale Vignerons. The extent of the supply chain is revealed. AC Johnston (Pirramimma), Herbert Kay & Frederick Kay (Kay Brothers), Frederick Wilkinson (Ryecroft), Fred Shipster (grower), Robert Wigley (Wirra Wirra), Bob Russell (Katunga) and Cyril Pridmore (Wattles) are all present.
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The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
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