Interview with Bernard Gehrig [transcript] Interviewer: Rob Linn

Bernard Gehrig was born on 22 April 1940 and his parents were Barney and Rose Gehrig. His father was a winemaker of German heritage and his grandfather arrived in Australia in 1855 and bought a property in 1867. In 1947 the property consisted of 60 to 70 acres. They replanted 50 acres in 1950 with a variety of grapes. Most of their trade was with hotels in Albury and Wodonga. He went to boarding school in Melbourne and then returned to the property to learn the industry. They had very bad rains in 1956, 1969 and 1989 and bad droughts in 1967/68, 1982/83 and for the last five years. There was a big lift in sales in the mid 1960s. The first wine festival was in Rutherglen in 1967. Increase in wine drinking came with an increase in prosperity. Initially wine was only sold in barrels - 9 to 40 gallons and mainly dry red. White was not popular until the 1970s. Vines last 30 to 40 years. His biggest upgrade in quality was due to refrigeration. He talks about wine judges and shows, especially the Rutherglen show which has been going for 100 years. Most of his market is local as their property is small and family run. He is concerned about increasing salinity and this needs to be addressed nationally

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