Interview with Valmai Hankel [transcript] Interviewer: Rob Linn

Valmai Hankel was born 1 May 1940. Her first job at the Public Library of South Australia was in the research service. She married Dennis Hall whose father was the cellar manager at Angoves from 1910 to 1946. Valmai interest in wine began when she was introduced to Wynn's Coonawarra Hermitage and she started buying wine books in the 1960s. Dennis introduced her to French wines in the late 1960s. In 1968 Thomas Hardy & Sons donated money to the State Library to establish the Thomas Hardy Wine Library. Valmai selected the publications. The Library's wine literature goes back to 1834. The Library established a wine label collection. She talks about John Fornachon's research. In the 1990s Valmai began writing articles about wine for newspapers and magazines

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