Mount Barker wine pioneer honoured
Wine lovers raised a glass of Great Southern wine on Friday 15 October to toast the life contribution of Mount Barker wine pioneer Tony Smith, founder of Plantagenet Wines.
Sadly, Mr Smith passed away only weeks after the Wine Show of WA event at which he was made a life member of the organisation. Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan presented Mr Smith with the award at Plantagenet Wines before an audience of wine show delegates.
Mr Smith first planted wine grapes on his farm Bouverie in Mount Barker in 1968. The first Plantagenet Wines vintage was bottled in 1974. Mr Smith went on to establish the region’s first cellar door in 1975 in a converted apple packing shed on Albany Highway in the centre of Mount Barker.
Decades of award-winning winemaking followed, during which Mr Smith championed the Great Southern as a winemaking region. He worked at national and international levels to promote the quality of wines produced here.
