Brian Walsh

Brian Walsh was born in Adelaide in 1951 and was raised in Aldinga. His parents were Clare and Martin John Walsh. His father ran the local Aldinga Hotel and he worked in the bottle department from the age of 12. He sold beer and sherry. He studied at Aldinga and then five years at Rostrevor College. He worked as a laboratory assistant at Reynella Wines which was run by Colin Haselgrove who was a visionary and worked hard to establish Reynella reds. Brian's starting wage was $25 per week and then $50 per week after two years. In 1970 the business was taken over by Hungerford Hill and he became production manager when Don Hughes died. He moved to Ryecroft in McLaren Flat in 1975 and stayed until 1981 when it was sold. He moved to Wynns at Glenloth winery as the Manager and they made Seaview Wines. They were taken over by South corp so he moved to Hardys. He talks about wine clubs and camaraderie. He was at Hardys in 1986/87. Wayne Jackson was managing director and Bob Hardy was still there. Brian was the operations manager and then moved to Yalumba as Chief Winemaker in 1988. He talks about the changes in the industry and shifts in popularity. He prefers working for a family company that does not have to respond to stock market pressures. They can take a long term view. He talks about significant people in the industry - Colin Haselgrove, Don Hughes, Pam Dunsford and others. He talks about changes to the industry especially being part of the international wine scene