Australia's First Families of Wine

Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW) is an Australian wine initiative to raise the profile of Australian wine to the world, showcasing a representative of its landmark wines and to highlight the quality and diversity of Australian wine. Established by a collective of twelve multi-generational family-owned wine producers. Together the families represent seventeen wine-growing regions across Australia and forty-eight generations of winemakers. It was officially launched at the Sydney Opera House on 31 August 2009 by former Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.[1][2][3][4][5][6][2][7][8]

Australia's First Families of Wine
AbbreviationAFFW
MottoTwelve of the most celebrated family names in Australian wine have come together to form Australia's First Families of Wine – an initiative to take the heart and soul of Australian wine to the world.
Formation2009
HeadquartersAustralia
AffiliationsWinemakers Federation of Australia
Websitewww.australiasfirstfamiliesofwine.com.au

Members

The inaugural members of Australia's First Families of Wine are:

  • Brown Brothers, founded in 1885, with vineyards in the King Valley, Heathcote and Swan Hill wine regions of Victoria
  • Campbells of Rutherglen, founded in 1870, with vineyards in the Rutherglen wine region of Victoria
  • D'Arenberg, (the Osborn family), founded in 1912, with vineyards in the McLaren Vale wine region of South Australia
  • Henschke, founded in 1868, with vineyards in the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills wine regions of South Australia
  • Howard Park Wines, (the Burch family), founded in 1986, with vineyards in the Margaret River and Great Southern wine regions of Western Australia
  • Jim Barry Wines, founded in 1959, with vineyards in the Clare Valley and Coonawarra wine regions of South Australia
  • McWilliam's Wines, founded in 1877, with vineyards in the Riverina, Hunter Valley and Hilltops wine regions of New South Wales, the Yarra Valley wine region of Victoria, the Coonawarra wine region of South Australia and the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia
  • Tahbilk, (the Purbrick family), founded in 1860, with vineyards in the Nagambie Lakes wine region of Victoria
  • Taylors Wines, founded in 1969, with vineyards in the Clare Valley wine region of South Australia
  • Tyrrell's, founded in 1858, with vineyards in the Hunter Valley wine region of New South Wales, the Heathcote wine region of Victoria and the McLaren Vale wine region and Limestone Coast wine zone of South Australia
  • Yalumba, (the Hill Smith family), founded in 1849, with vineyards in the Eden Valley and the Barossa Valley wine regions of South Australia.[6][7][8]

Criteria

The main criteria that the family-owned companies need are:

  • Have a "landmark wine" in their portfolios listed under Langton's Classification and/or 75% agreement by group that a wine is considered "iconic"
  • Being family controlled as defined under the Australian Corporations Act
  • Have the ability to do at least a 20-year vertical tasting
  • Have a history going back a minimum of two generations
  • Have ownership of vineyards more than 50 years old and/or ownership of distinguished sites which exemplify the best of terroir
  • Long-term commitment to export, environmental best practices and appropriate cellar door experience
  • Family-member service on wine industry bodies
  • Membership of the Winemakers Federation of Australia[7][9][10][11][8]

Mission statement

First Families chairman and fourth generation winemaker and Tahbilk chief executive Alister Purbrick stated: "We desperately need to change the global perception of Australian wine. We don't believe as individual companies we can stem the avalanche of news stories about Australia producing nothing but cheap industrial wines. But together we can present a powerful showcase of terrific regional wines of great diversity." Some industry commentators lay the blame for this negative opinion on the giant, publicly listed multinational corporations, such as Constellation Wines and Foster's, which have dominated the industry for years and concentrated on the cheap commodity end of the market rather than building the reputation of Australia's finer, regionally distinctive wines. "While as family winemakers we all value our independence, we do share a common vision - that Australian wine can take on the world's best and win," Purbrick said.[2][9]

Nowhere else in the world could such a group be assembled, their history told both through the mouths of the family members and the wines they present. The underlying rationale for the formation of Australia's First Families of Wine was the realization that export markets had either lost sight of or had no way of knowing about Australia's rich history, it's diverse regions and wine styles, and the fierce personal commitment of the best winemakers to the production of high-quality wines true to their variety and geographical origin...The challenges for Australia are clear enough. What Australia's First Families of Wine can and will do is turn words into actions, ambitions into concrete results.

— James Halliday, Heart & soul: Australia's First Families of Wine (2010)

History of concept

The concept is based on similar initiative launched nearly 20 years ago when a group of the Europe's leading family wineries formed an association called Primum Familiae Vini, (PFV abbreviated often, Latin: Best families of the wine), and replicated a few years ago in New Zealand with its Family of Twelve.[12]

Books and media
  • Heart & soul : Australia's First Families of Wine, (2010) ISBN 978-1-74246-924-9[6]
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See also

References

Notes
  1. Funding First Families of Wine to boost exports
  2. Burke, Tony (31 August 2009). "Our wines need to step up in class". The Australian. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. "Grant to promote Aussie wines abroad". Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  4. "Agri Business Australia". Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  5. "Clans push merits of Aussie wines". Max Allen, The Australian, page 5. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  6. Graeme Lofts (2010). Heart & soul : Australia's First Families of Wine. John Wiley & Sons Australia. ISBN 978-1-74246-924-9.
  7. Simon Evans, The Australian Financial Review, Tuesday 18 August 2009, Page 61
  8. Snow, Chris (17 August 2009). "Top Australian wineries team up to push super-premium wines". Decanter Magazine. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  9. "The Heart & Soul of Australian wine to launch in Sydney on Monday 31 August". Winetitles, Australia's wine industry portal. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  10. "First Families forge pact to promote wine". Jamie Freed, Business Day. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  11. "Australia's first families team up". Ken Gargett, Meininger's wine business international. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
  12. Ray Jordan, The West Australian, Saturday 5 September 2009, page 70

Bibliography
  • Lofts, Graeme (2010). Heart and Soul: Australia's First Families of Wine. Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons Australia. ISBN 9781742469249.
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