Mary Penfold , née Holt (1820–1895), was an English businesswoman, pioneering winemaker and co-founder of Penfolds Winery .
32-582: Mary Penfold Max Schubert Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia , and his wife Mary Penfold . It is one of Australia's oldest wineries , and is currently part of Treasury Wine Estates . The chief winemaker since 2002 has been Peter Gago . Christopher and Mary Penfold arrived in Australia from Angmering , West Sussex , UK, at
64-553: A cellar master by the name of Joseph Gillard. Mary retired in 1884, aged 68; at that time the winery owned about a third of all of South Australia's wine stores, and had presented at a colonial exhibition in London. Following Mary's retirement, her daughter Georgina, and son-in-law Thomas Hyland, assumed responsibility for the day-to-day running of the winery. Subsequently, the business was passed on to their two sons and two daughters. Mary died in 1896, Gladys Penfold Hyland became
96-688: A number of vineyards in the South Australian wine regions that produce a wide range of grape varieties: First used in 1923, the Penfolds logo is one of Australia's most recognised trademarks. Eight Penfolds wines were named by the Langtons auction house in its 2012 list of the top 20 most-desired brands. In 2013 Penfolds was awarded "New World Winery of the Year" by American wine industry publication, Wine Enthusiast Magazine. In 2016, Penfolds
128-700: A partner of the (RED) campaign, together with Nike , Girl, American Express and Converse . The campaign's mission is to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child by 2015. The campaign's byline is "Fighting For An AIDS Free Generation". Mary Penfold Mary Holt, born 1820 in Edmonton England, was the only daughter of a London medical practitioner, Dr Thomas Holt. On 26 Mary 1835, Mary Holt married Christopher Rawson Penfold and they settled in Brighton, England. At
160-462: A production total of 450,000 litres (120,000 US gal) of wine. Between 1904 and 1912, more vineyards in McLaren Vale and New South Wales were purchased. During the 1940s and 1950s, the company changed its focus and commenced the production of table wines to accommodate changing tastes. This new direction led to experiments by Penfolds' chief winemaker, Max Schubert , who backed by
192-531: A small timber shack which was replaced a year later with a stone cottage called The Grange. They named the cottage after Mary’s former home in Northumberland. They established a surgery in the dining room of the cottage. Around their home they farmed crops of wheat, barley and oats, and planted a vineyard with vine cuttings that they brought with them from France. While Dr Penfold worked long hours setting up his practice, Mary supervised
224-449: The 2016 census , the locality of McLaren Vale had a population of 3,842 and a median age of 52 of which 3,096 lived in its town centre. McLaren Vale is located within the federal division of Mayo , the state electoral district of Mawson and the local government area of the City of Onkaparinga . 291555293 McLaren Vale, South Australia on OpenStreetMap This article about
256-479: The Adelaide city centre and about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) south of the municipal seat at Noarlunga Centre . The township was formed in 1923 from a merging of the two original villages of Gloucester and Bellevue, which were established in the 1840s. Boundaries for the locality were defined on 13 July 1995 for the portion within the former City of Noarlunga with the portion in the former District Council of Willunga being added on 28 January 1999. Land within
288-564: The Barossa Valley . In June 2012 Penfolds released a limited edition run of the "2004 Block 42" wine that was only sold in glass ampoules. The wine was labelled by the Huffington Post publication as "the most expensive wine directly sold from a winery in the world", as the winery sought US$ 168,000 for each of the ampoules. The glass ampoules were designed and hand-blown by Australian glass artist Nick Mount. Penfolds operates
320-628: The "large market for her wines in Victoria, Tasmania, and New Zealand" and even India By 1881, the business had expanded such that 107,000 gallons of wine were made at Magill. This was equal to one-third of all the wine stored in South Australia at that time. The same year Penfolds received a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition for their wine. Amongst Mary’s reported possessions was a spyglass, which she used to keep an eye on
352-488: The ' white goods ' and other manufacturing interests became Southcorp, an Australian conglomerate. It was also in 1976 that Schubert stood down from the position of Penfolds Chief Winemaker, a role that was passed onto Don Ditter. In 1977, Penfolds began what was to be an almost twenty-year association with Sydney-based rugby league team, the St George Dragons as the club's primary sponsor. This association saw
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#1732786904906384-693: The Dragons play five 'home' games at the Adelaide Oval between 1991 and 1995, with the 1991 game attracting 28,884 fans. The Dragons, with Penfolds as their sponsor, would win the Sydney premiership in 1977 and 1979 , while appearing in the 1985 , 1992 and 1993 Grand Finals. Penfolds ended their association with St George at the end of 1995. Southcorp Wines became a part of the Foster's Group in 2005. In 2011, Fosters Group shareholders voted to demerge
416-598: The Penfolds' son-in-law, Thomas Francis Hyland , was unaware of Mary's fundamental role at the winery, and he urged his mother-in-law to sell the business as preparation for her retirement. Mary did not accept Hyland's advice, and eventually brokered a partnership agreement that resulted in Hyland remaining in Melbourne , while Mary continued her work at the winery in Adelaide. A journalist reported in 1874, four years after
448-637: The age of 24, Mary emigrated to Australia with her husband who was a physician, their young daughter Georgina, and their employee Ellen Timbrell, who is recorded to have served not only as the family's maid and Georgina's nurse but also as assistant winemaker. They arrived in the colony of South Australia on 18 June 1844 on board the baroque Taglioni in the first decade of the colony's establishment. Christopher and Mary Penfold purchased 500 acres of land at Magill then known as Mackgill for £1,200. When they arrived at their property in August 1844, they built
480-427: The age of 59. According to one historical account, by the time of Christopher's death the business had "grown to over 60 acres with several different grape varieties including grenache, verdelho, mataro (mourvedre), frontignac and pedro ximenez", and the estate was "producing both sweet and dry red and white table wines with a growing market in the eastern Australian colonies of Victoria and New South Wales." At this time,
512-490: The business; however, the records Mary Penfold left behind demonstrate her continued control of the company. It was reported that, upon Christopher's death, Hyland suggested that she had no choice but to sell the Penfolds winery and draw a pension. Mary responded by mailing her son-in-law a detailed financial ledger and business forecast, created in her own hand. Hyland went on to become a business partner. Everything she knew about wine, she taught herself, insisting on having
544-477: The chair of the board in 1948 after her husband died. Under her leadership the company's reputation for creating fine wines increased as she backed Max Schubert as he developed the Grange wine. She led the board until 1962 when the company went public. Gladys was a director until 1963. The Penfold family retained a controlling interest until 1976. In 1903, Penfolds was the largest winery in the Adelaide region, with
576-461: The chair of the board visited Europe following the end of World War II to learn about sherry production; however, it was the time spent by Schubert in Bordeaux that eventually led to the production of Penfolds' and Australia's most famous wine, " Grange Hermitage ", later renamed "Grange". In the 1960s the company introduced a series of red wines: Bin 389, Bin 707, Bin 28 and Bin 128, that became
608-407: The coast (Aldinga Plains) is more thinly settled chiefly in consequence of a want of water. At two miles from the township, however, the traveller enters upon the extensive and rich valley of McLaren, named from Mr McLaren, Land Office, who surveyed it and most of the southern districts. The town and locality is located within the McLaren Vale wine region . Former Newsboys frontman Peter Furler
640-586: The death of Christopher Penfold, that Mary blended "the wines when they are two or three years old", a process that "is done under Mrs Penfold's personal supervision, not in conformity with any fixed and definite rule, but entirely according to her judgement and taste". The reporter stated that there was "about 20,000 gallons of wine of that age ready for the market", with a "total stock ... close upon 90,000 gallons". During her tenure, Mary engaged in experimentation, explored new methods of wine production, looked into ways of combating diseases like phylloxera , and engaged
672-491: The former locality of Landcross Farm was added on 16 March 2000. The source of the name has been attributed by several writers to either David McLaren of the South Australian Company or John McLaren of the colonial government's Land Office. Geoff Manning , a South Australian historian, investigated this matter and found that the latter person is the namesake. South of Noarlunga the country along
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#1732786904906704-450: The grapes blended to her own taste. In 1874, The Register reported on a visit to Magill that: "the winehouses and vineyard belonging to Mrs. Penfold. of Magill, ... Mrs. Penfold makes but four varieties of wine, namely, sweet and dry red, and sweet and dry white. The work is done under Mrs. Penfold's personal direction, not in conformity to any fixed or definite rule, but according to her judgement and taste". The article also indicates
736-591: The highlights of the Penfolds brand. In 1976, control of Penfolds was acquired by Tooth and Co. , a brewer based in New South Wales , which in 1982 became part of the Adelaide Steamship Company Group. In 1990, SA Brewing purchased Adelaide Steamship's wineries. Subsequently, SA Brewing was divided into three separate entities: the brewing assets retained the S.A. Brewing name, the wine assets were named Southcorp Wines , and
768-587: The home of her daughter, Georgina, and son-in-law Thomas Hyland, with whom she had lived in the last few years of her life. Penfold's body was transported back to Adelaide to be buried at St George's Cemetery in Magill, near her former home of The Grange, the original site of Penfolds vineyard. McLaren Vale, South Australia McLaren Vale is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located about 33 kilometres (21 mi) south of
800-558: The respective ages of 33 and 24, in June 1844. Following their arrival, they were supported by family members in the attainment of the 500 acres (200 ha) Magill (originally "Mackgill") Estate at the foot of the Mount Lofty Ranges . As part of the cultivation of the land surrounding the cottage that the couple built (named "The Grange"), French grape vine cuttings that had been brought from England were planted. Christopher
832-600: The running of the house, garden, the farm, the vineyard and winery. The first wines were prescribed as tonic wines for patients, particularly those suffering from anaemia. Penfold kept many records, including a diary and a daybook, that outlined her work managing the farm and developing the Magill Estate; however, historically, the development of the winery has been attributed solely to her husband. Similarly, many historical records suggest that upon her husband's death in 1870, their son-in-law, Thomas Hyland, took control of
864-555: The wine operations from the brewing operations, and form two separate companies; Foster's wine business became Treasury Wine Estates (TWE). Headquartered in Melbourne, it was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and began operating as a standalone company on 9 May 2011. Since then, Penfolds operates two wineries: Magill Estate, at the base of Adelaide's eastern foothills, and Nuriootpa in
896-571: The work force. Mary would often be seen marshalling the vineyard upon a white mare. In 1884, at the age of 68, Mary Penfold retired from active involvement in the winery. During her tenure, Mary engaged in experimentation, explored new methods of wine production and looked into ways of combating diseases like phylloxera. An obituary in The Adelaide Advertiser indicates that Mary Penfold died in 1895 in Brighton, Victoria at
928-411: Was a believer in the medicinal benefits of wine , and both he and Mary planned to concoct a wine tonic for the treatment of anaemia ; Christopher had set up his practice on the eastern outskirts of Adelaide , South Australia . Initially, the Penfolds produced fortified wines in the style of sherry and port for Christopher's patients. As demand for the wines increased, the winery was expanded and
960-580: Was born in McLaren Vale. The Coast to Vines rail trail passes through McLaren Vale. There was a station at McLaren Vale on the former Willunga railway line that it follows. The main road junction into the town, at Victor Harbor Road and Main Road, has over the years been notorious for fatal crashes. In 2011, construction started on an overpass, to remove the threat of right hand turns through high speed traffic. The overpass opened in late 2012. At
992-618: Was named the Most Admired Wine Brand by Drinks International. Penfolds Grange was classified as a First Growth in Liv-ev's 2017 recreation of the Bordeaux 1855 classification . The only Australian winery to receive a perfect score from both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate for the same vintage (Grange 2008). Grange 1955 was named one of the Top 12 Wines of the 20th Century by Wine Spectator . In 2012, Penfolds listed as
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1024-432: Was officially established in 1844. In addition to sherry and port, the Penfolds discovered that clarets and rieslings were both easy to produce and popular. As the demand for Christopher's medical services increased, Mary was required to devote more time to the operation of the winery, and her tasks included the cultivation of the vines and grape blending. Mary assumed the running of the winery after her husband died in 1870 at
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