74 The Advertiser www.adelaidenow.com.au Saturday, November 17, 2012 Penfolds man of science Ray Beckwith OAM with legendary winemakers Colin Hazelgrove and Roger Warren at Thomas Hardy and Sons at Mile T was only after he retired End before being poached by that the scale of Ray Leslie Penfold Hyland in 1935. I Beckwith’s contribution to In 1936, he married Coral Lodge, making fine wines in Australia the sister-in-law of John Williams, became known. one of his early mentors. Ray’s father, Arthur Henry They moved to Nuriootpa in -■ ' v \ Milestones Beckwith, owned a Cowell 1937 and set up home. _______ «__ hardware and plumbing business Son, Jim, was born in 1949. for farmers “opening up Eyre Ray and Coral lived happily significant competitive advantage Arthur Ray Beckwith OAM Peninsula for settlement.” together for two months short of during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. But Pioneering wine scientist His mother Blanche was, before 60 years before that “wretched a strict code of secrecy kept him marriage, a music teacher at Alzheimer”, as Ray called it, well out of the limelight. Born: February 23,1912; Wallaroo mines, Kadina. She had eventually claimed her life in 1996. It would not be until 30 years Cowell previously studied pianoforte at His work at Penfolds from 1935 after Ray’s retirement that the Died: November 7, 2012; Adelaide University and was a to 1973 laid the foundations for Australian wine industry Barossa Valley fellow of Trinity College, London. modern winemaking. recognised his contribution to Education: Murray Bridge High In 1919, the family moved to In 1936, after visiting chemistry wine science with the Maurice School, Roseworthy Agricultural Murray Bridge, where Ray and his professor AK Macbeth at the O’Shea Award in 2006, the Medal College. Honours Diploma of brothers Norman and Lance University of Adelaide, he of the Order of Australia in 2008 Viticulture. Honorary doctorate attended high school. observed that “pH might be a and his honorary doctorate. University of Adelaide They would all become leading useful tool in the control of Ray’s autobiography, K eep Achievements: Advanced industrial chemists. bacterial growth in wine.” Good Wine Good and other winemaking in Australia. Made In 1929, Ray won an Education It was going to become the key matters, was written in 2001 for the technical breakthroughs for Department scholarship to attend in Ray’s discovery of how to his grandchildren. Grange Hermitage Roseworthy Agricultural College. stabilise wine and protect it from It was a reflection of “my own Family: Survived by son Jim and He was a keen cricketer, footballer spoilage. The implementation of curiosity for what my five grandchildren and tennis player and also broke pH meters and strict management grandparents had achieved during the junior and senior records in standards revolutionised wine­ their lifetime”. sheaf tossing. making at Penfolds. When he began work at a world first with his use of pH Ray had topped the optional It underpinned the creative Penfolds, the company was to control bacteria in wine, course of oenology at Roseworthy development of Grange focused on port, the most popular putting Australia at the forefront and in 1932 was offered a cadet­ Hermitage by Max Schubert and drink of the era when bacterial of fine winemaking. ship in chemistry at Roseworthy. the growing range of Penfolds spoilage affected so many dry Long before the term quality It was while working under the table wines, including St Henri reds. Penfolds had no vineyards control was in common use, he patronage of distinguished Claret and Bin 389 Cabernet and bought its grapes from the introduced “preventative” academics John Williams and Shiraz. Ray’s work led to a German Bar ossa Valley growers, winemaking techniques at Alan Robb Hickinbotham that his significant leap in wine quality who mostly delivered their grapes Penfolds to deal with the myriad interest in wine science and huge cost savings in in horse-drawn wagons. complexities of protecting wines blossomed. Ray worked briefly production, giving Penfolds a Many believe that Ray achieved from loss of quality..