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Marri and the Mann»
Jack Mann reigns eternal as the greatest winemaker in the history of the Australian west. Jack Mann's son Tony grew up amongst the vineyards of Houghton but took a keener interest in things Cricket. He exelled at both pursuits but is best remembered as the legendary leg spinner Tony Rocket Mann. During his off seasons away from the pitch, Tony would plant parcels of vine alongside his illustruious father Jack and his own young son Robert. The fully grown Robert now makes his own wine, from fruit of the very vines sown by Jack and Tony Mann. Robert learned from his grandfather that great winemaking required a spiritual oneness with nature. The birds and the bees play a pivotal role in achieving a harvest of the most personable grapes. The ultimate quality of the ferments are decided by the character of yeasts as they populate the vine. So content is Robert Mann with the elocution of his fruit, that he chooses to barely age his wines in a selection of the mellowest seasoned oak. It's actually the Marri trees that point the way, marking out.. Whence the west was won»
Mildara
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Mildara
Mildara Wines was at the vanguard of the rediscovery of the Coonawarra region

William Benjamin Chaffey (born in 1856 in Brockville, Ontario) was a Canadian engineer who with his brother George, developed the California cities of Etiwanda, Ontario, and Upland, as well as Mildura in Victoria. He established irrigation companies in both Mildura and in Renmark, where he is still held in veneration. His company, Chaffey Brothers Ltd, went into liquidation in 1894. He remained in Mildura, becoming mayor in 1920, establishing an orchard, and the Mildura (later Mildara) Winery Pty Ltd.

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In 1953 Mildara's Managing Director Ron Haselgrove, bought 12,735 litres of Coonawarra red wine from Bill Redman. Ron recognised that the Coonawarra could produce classical, elegant Cabernets and in 1955 he purchased the Company's first 12.5ha of the Coonawarra's famous Terra Rossa soil. Mildara was the first major winery to invest in the Medoc of the South.

In 1958 Ron Haselgrove assembled an experimental blend of 50% Coonawarra Shiraz and Cabernet and 50% Hunter Shiraz to make a wine that still ranks as one of Australia's finest. In 1966 the first Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz Malbec was produced. Mildara had interplanted Malbec with Cabernet Sauvignon in the manner practised in Bordeaux.

Many successes followed, notably the Montgomery Trophy for Best Dry Red Table Wine at the 1984 Royal Adelaide Show. These acclaimed early blends were forerunners to Jamieson's Run which was launched in 1987 to celebrate Mildara's centenary. Mildara Wines purchased the Wolf Blass group in 1991 to form Mildara Blass, a publicly listed company.

Mildara

In 1996 Fosters Brewing group completed the acquisition of Mildara Blass but Mildara continues to operate as a more-or-less separate entity. Mildara Blass has focussed on the upper end of wine markets, enjpying an estimated 9% share of the domestic market for bottled wine in 1996 but some 30% share of its targeted premium market.

The US is Mildara's major export marketing taking around 350,000 cases per annum or over 50% of the group's exports. Its wines are marketed there under the Black Opal and other related labels. Mildara Blass exports to more than 70 countries worldwide. In 1997/98 Mildara exported over 1,000,000 cases of premium wines, showing a 25% growth in exports over the past year.

In 2005 McGuigan Simeon bought Mildara's second winery at Merbein located in Victoria's Sunraysia. A significant event for the the local winegrowers, Mildara at Merbein was the major distribution and packaging centre for Beringer Blass and McGuigan Simeon plans to keep the winery at Mildura as head of its export operations.

Mildara