Australia's First Families of Wine

Australia's First Families of Wine celebrates eleven of Australia's most iconic and important wine families and the vineyards and businesses they have built. With more than 5,000 hectares under vine, the families operate in sixteen wine-growing regions around Australia. They make many of Australia's most distinctive wines and all are household names- Brown Brothers, Tahbilk, Campbells, Yalumba, Henschke, d'Arenberg, Jim Barry, Taylors, McWilliam's, Tyrell's and Howard Park. Australia's First Families of Wine showcases the colourful histories of these spectacular vineyards and historic buildings, exploring the wine industry's transformation into an export-earning powerhouse and detailing the challenges of taking old family businesses into the 21st century.

About the Authors

Richard Allen has been a writer for more than 30 years and has written on a wide variety of subjects for The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend, Sunday Telegraph (UK) and BRW. His previous books include Shimmering Spokes- One Australian's 16,000 Kilometre Odyssey, Recollections of a Remarkable Age, Australia's Remarkable Trees, The Spirit of Golf and How It Applies to Life, Great Properties of Country Victoria- The Western District's Golden Age, and The Royal Melbourne Golf Club-125 Years.

Kimbal Baker is a Melbourne-based freelance photographer who has worked for ACP Publications and Agence France Presse. His photographs have appeared in numerous books. This book is his fourth collaboration with Richard Allen, and follows Australia's Remarkable Trees, Great Properties of Country Victoria- The Western District's Golden Age and The Courses of The Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Australia Post featured several of his photographs of Australian trees in a series of postage stamps and first day covers. His images have been archived in the National Library of Australia.