Queens honour for Grange-maker
Penfolds Magill Estate Winery, Magill, Adelaide, South Australia,
Former cheif winemaker and custodian of Hermitage Grange at Penfolds Wines, Donovan Ditter, has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the wine industry.
Born in the Barossa, Donovan told AAP he credited growing up in the area to his career. "In the Barossa when I finished my schooling I was interested in chemistry, and the only places that had laboratories were wineries back then," he says.
He began working as a laboratory assistant at the Magill Winery in Adelaide in 1942 and retired in 1986 from the position chief winemaker at Penfolds Wines after producing 14 vintages of Grange. Donovan was instrumental in developing Australia's international wine markets, participating in six overseas missions to Europe, Scandinavia, UK and USA, promoting Australian wines and observing the winemaking practices employed in the great winegrowing countries of Europe.
Regions
- Barossa (including Eden Valley) (SA)
- Barossa Valley (SA)
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