GALAFREY WINES

‘THE REAL SEA CHANGE -30 YEARS AHEAD OF
THEIR TIME’ 

The Great Southern region is one of the remote wine areas of

Australia,spread unevenly over an area of 150km from north to south and 100kmacross east to west. The first vineyard was planted in 1966 and the first wine made in 1972 and all around the town of Mount Barker.
Viticulture arrived in Mount Barker in 1964 when Bill Jamieson and Dorham
Mann from the WA Agriculture Department were digging holes in the land and
following the research carried out by the distinguished climatologist and soil
scientist, Dr John Gladstone.

This lead to the Forest Hill Vineyard on the
Pearse property,who were farmers in Mount Barker, in 1966.
But even before this there were some great names interested in the area of
Mount Barker. Early in the century Penfolds Hyland family, then owners of
Penfolds, looked over the area at the invitation of the West Australian
Government. The problems of clearing natural forest and geographical
isolation were too great and the proposal did not proceed.
Later, The great Jack Mann (who established the Houghton Brand) visited the
district as a first grade cricketer in the years after World War Two, he too was
impressed with the climate and with what he saw.
When Professor Harold Olmo, of California, came to WA at the government’s
invitation in 1958 and singled out Margaret River and Lower Great Southern
areas as the most suited for viticulture then things really started to move.
The first wineries in the area were Alkoomi 1971, Goundrey 1976 ,
Plantagenet 1968 and Galafrey Wines 1977.
Galafrey Wines is now celebrating their 30th Anniversary in an area rich in
history and great personal stories. Many wine writers and journalist wrote
Galafrey has an underlying eccentricity. Ian Tyrer had a number of
claims to fame, a background in computers that followed into wine and a high
pitched, penetrating laugh, which was identifiable by all whom came into contact with him .
Ian and Linda Tyrer ventured into viticulture after a career in computers in
London and Melbourne. Ian Tyrer was born in Brookton WA and wanted to
return to the West and live in the country. And it was from the findings of Dr
Gladstone and Bill Jamieson that Galafrey was born. Ian and Linda Tyrer like
the pioneers before them dug holes all over WA looking for the right soil and
climate for their vineyard before settling 10km west of Mount Barker.
In 1984 Galafrey moved to Albany to an 80 yr old wool store on the foreshore
where the winery had a surplus amount of space and the family of three (3) took up residence as well . In 1992 the winery was
moved back to Mount Barker to a purpose built shed. At that time was vintage
and as grapes were coming in one door, tanks were coming in the other,
making for a busy year moving and processing. In 1997 the cellar door sales
 moved from Albany to the Mount Barker property as more and more
people started to visit the region.
Thoughtout time there have been many changes to the tax of wine. In
1986 the government started taxing wine with a 10% sales tax. Then over the
years the tax rose and stands at 29% wine equalization tax and 10% GST
which totals at 41.9% tax on wine.
In 1985 Galafrey won a trophy in the Mount Barker Wine Show recognising it
as the State’s premium red wine and Galafrey was the first winery in the area
to win an international trophy for their 1991 Riesling in the Sydney
International Top 100. And speaking of first Galafrey was the first in the region
to produce a sparkling wine with their 1985 Sparkling Cabernet Brut and 1987
Rhine Riesling Brut.
In 2003 the foundations of Galafrey were shook up with the untimely death of
Ian Tyrer to cancer. His achievements in the industry were recognised with the
Wine Press Club George Mulgrave Award, he received a standing ovation from his peers. And after his death the Ian Tyrer Fund was set up to raise money
for the local hospital for a much needed ultrasound. The target was set at $25,000 but
$50,000 was raised, a testament to Ian’s generous spirit.
In 2003 also saw a dramatic change in the WA wine industry with an increase
in vines planted at 165 per cent; the national growth was only 60 per cent.
The Great Southern was crushing approx 10,000 tonnes of grapes where as
in 1999 only 4500 tonnes of grapes were being produced in the area. With
22,000 ha of grapes grown and a total of 39 labels compare that with
Margaret River sits just over 5000 Ha and has 101 labels crushing a total of
22,171 tonnes you can see where the majority of l the grapes are being grown in WA.
Also it is interesting to note that in an analysis of the trophy results for the
Sydney Royal Wine Show from 2001 – 2005 showed that Clare Valley regions
won the most trophies followed by the Hunter Valley, Coonawarra and then
the Great Southern.
Today Galafrey has twelve hectares under vine consisting of Chardonnay,
Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Merlot
Grapes. We are also growing Muller-Thurgau, a unique white grape variety
that produces a light, flavourful, fruity grape that’s low in acid.
Galafrey ‘s vines are not irrigated; something quite unusual in these days of
mass commercial production. Galafrey prefers low-yielding wine crops with
small berries. Although it limits their volume, having smaller fruit fosters an
intensity of flavour, with most of the colour and tannin of the grape being
concentrated in or near the skin.
‘Remembering back to 1977, arriving in Mount Barker four months pregnant,
a truck load of furniture, a few thousand grape cuttings- naive but starry-eyed,
full of enthusiasm; I have to smile thinking about the TV show “Real Sea
Change”-it seems we were 30 years ahead of our time, when we left our secure
well-paid jobs in the computer industry to be pioneers in the Mount Barker
wine Industry.
I think we have experienced almost everything you can in the wine industry
over the last 30 years. Hail that wiped out 1989 crop, floods, snow, droughts,
the dreaded vegetable weevil, snails, locust, birds. Cyclone Alby and lots of
tail ends of cyclone that dump huge amounts of rain right in the middle of
vintage. Not to mention the dominance of liquor store market and the ‘famous
wine glut’ ‘quotes Linda Tyrer