Interview with Paul Conti [transcript] Interviewer: Rob Linn

Conti, Paul (1936- Paul Conti was born in the Swan coastal valley, Western Australia, in 1936. His father emigrated from Sicily in 1925 and his mother in 1927. For Italians, vines are another form of income on a mixed farm. His father only made red wine, which he sold in demijohns around the Perth area. The fertile swamp lands around Perth were developed as market gardens and there was a strong ethnic community when Paul was growing up. Paul Conti took over the vineyard from his father in 1968. Paul credits Dorham Mann, the Department of Agriculture adviser, with improving the quality of Western Australian wines. Paul describes in detail the changes in equipment and winemaking he had to introduce to ensure the changeover from making bulk to table wines. Equipment purchases have to be planned over a four year period to cover repayments. Conti wines are now exported to Tokyo and Japan through agents. Paul believes that the Australian market is harder than the export market, but he believes that he has been helped by the parochial support for local wine. He uses a distribution agency for the Perth metropolitan area. Cellar door sales and a restaurant have always been profitable. Paul and his winemaker son, Jason, are not interested in amalgamation or getting too large for a family business. Paul's detailed account of the changes in planting vines highlights the importance of mechanisation. Paul Conti has always been concerned with the customers

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