Interview with Noel Burge [transcript] Interviewer: Rob Linn

Noel Burge was born at Lyndoch where his family had a mixed farm, including vineyards. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Noel's father established Wilsford Wines to make his own fortified wines rather than sell his grapes to the large wineries for next to nothing. After completing his secondary education at St. Peters' College, Noel went to Roseworthy Agricultural College where he was one of the first students in the oenology course. This long interview includes his clear memories of the Roseworthy students and staff. During the college vacation, Noel worked at various wineries in McLaren Vale. After graduation, Noel joined the Berri Co-operative from 1938 until 1950. During World War II, Noel was in a restricted occupation and could not enlist. He noted the employment in the winery during the war. At that time, the Berri Co-operative was the largest in Australia because of the funds it received as part of Government support for the soldier settlers returned from World War I. Noel was in charge of technical winemaking. In 1950, Noel returned to the family farm where he became involved with vineyard work and the apricot harvest as well as making the fortified wines for which Wilsford was highly regarded. Noel Burge believes that the important development in the 1950s was the introduction of European grape varieties released by the Phylloxera Board. This was accompanied by the vine pull which must have included old Shiraz vines, most suitable for Penfolds Grange. Noel considers that the best Shiraz is grown on the Coonawarra limestone subsoil. In 1964, Noel Burge took more grapes than he needed to help the growers. Fortified wines required strict security and record keeping to meet excise demands. Noel believes that he came too late to making dry table wines. He has kept many written records and the interview is peppered with detailed stories.

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