Interview with Daryl Groom [transcript] Interviewer: Rob Linn

Daryl Groom, born in 1958, came from a traditional working class background. His father was a fitter and turner at General Motors Holdens. Daryl was the youngest of five children. After his mother died, Daryl lived with his brother Terry who was the Member for Hansen and a Minister in the Dunstan Government. Like his brothers, Daryl undertook tertiary education. He enrolled at Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1976, the first year the College became co-educational. Upon reflection, Daryl considered that he learnt more from working as a cellar hand during vacations than he did at Roseworthy. He attributed this to his youth because his teachers were excellent. After graduation, Daryl started work as assistant winemaker at Kaiser Stuhl. When that company was taken over by Penfolds in 1982, Daryl remained with the company for a further twelve years where he was involved with the making of Grange. In 1989, he went to California to look after Penfolds interests there. Always interested in consumer preferences, Daryl learnt a great deal at Geyser Peak in California where in 1992 the LA Times named him Winemaker of the Year. He still regularly visits Australia. Because of his local, national and international experience, and his determination to reflect critically upon his working life, Daryl Groom gave a very thoughtful interview. This was period of significant changes in the wine industry with the introduction of new grape varieties, new styles of wines and mergers and overseas takeovers. Readers interested in particular winemakers and developments in the Australian wine industry will learn much from this interview

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