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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-07-24 Daily Xml
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PETER LEHMANN

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (15:13): Australia, South Australia and the Barossa have lost one of their true icons. Legendary winemaker, Peter Lehmann, died at the age of 82 on 26 June. Known as The Baron of the Barossa, Peter is credited with transforming Australia's wine industry into a global player and was pivotal in shaping the Barossa wine industry as we know it today.

Mr Lehmann is survived by his wife, Margaret, their two children, David and Philip, and Doug and Libby from his first marriage and several grandchildren.

Peter Lehmann was born at Angaston in 1930, the son of a local pastor. He was 14 when his father died, and in 1947 he decided he would leave school to become an apprentice winemaker at Yalumba. Over more than a decade, he learnt the skills which set him on course to becoming a leading winemaker.

In 1959, Peter became the head winemaker/manager of the historic Barossa Valley winery, a position he held for some 20 years. In 1975, Peter discovered fruity white wines, at a time when red wine consumption was declining, and introduced them to Saltram's offering. Unfortunately, the owner of Saltram's at the time did not agree, and in 1978, Peter was instructed to stop buying the fruit for white wines. It is a bit similar to Max Schubert being told by Penfolds to stop experimenting with these new dry reds, particularly the Grange, in 1953.

Knowing that growers' families' livelihoods were at stake if they had nowhere to sell their fruit, Peter stood up and said no to Saltram's management and they let him continue to work with the growers and process the fruit on the site as a side project and it was called Masterson. In 1979, Saltram's was sold and the new owners no longer let the side project continue, with growers facing ruin. Peter then made the bold decision to resign. In 1982, Peter Lehmann and his wife Margaret built a respected reputation under their own name, Peter Lehmann Wines.

Peter Lehmann retired in 2002 and he and Margaret remained part owners of the business and lived right next door to the Barossa winery. Peter Lehmann was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia, received an International Wine Challenge lifetime achievement award in 2009 and was known as the original Baron of the Barossa. He was one of the founding members of the Barons of Barossa in 1974, a group which has now inducted more than 100 men and women to recognise their contributions to the famous wine region.

I got to know Peter Lehmann quite well. Usually fairly reserved and quite serious, he was capable of very witty, dry and infectious humour and tricks. One day, many years ago, he was welcoming me to a party at their home and he said, 'I apologise; Susan Lenehan is here. She's a friend of Margaret's, not mine'—and deliberately in the hearing of Susan. What do you say? Also, I will never forget when I was a brand-new member of parliament being present when M.S. McLeod, who owned Lehmann's, was trying to sell it off because they were cash-strapped and Lehmann was good business and worth a big dollar.

Peter was trying to stave off the sale so he and his new board could publicly float the company, but they needed $5 million in order to do that—only a matter of five weeks—and many negotiations went on. In the end, after all was said and done, history will record what happened here and I will not put it on the record, because I duck for cover a little, as some may know. The final result was that the company was saved and floated, and it was 50 per cent oversubscribed, so it was a great success story.

To Margaret, David and Philip and to Doug and Libby and to the extended family and friends, we extend our sincere condolences. Peter was pivotal in shaping the Barossa wine industry and for getting the Australian wine industry renowned on the global stage. A true icon in the wine industry, Peter Lehmann, vale. Sir, it has been extremely quiet in the Barossa. The whole week after he had gone, everybody was very hushed, and we did not realise what it was going to be like without him. He is gone, but he will always be very fondly remembered.

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