Morris Wines Head Distiller Darren Peck, Casella Family Brands Chief Executive Officer John Casella and sixth generation Chief Winemaker Madden Morris celebrate Morris of Rutherglen’s 165 year anniversary.
One of Rutherglen’s most loved wineries, Morris of Rutherglen is celebrating 165 years of tradition and innovation.
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The 165th anniversary marks a milestone year for the brand, celebrating the marriage of the crafts of whisky and winemaking, the refurbishment of the iconic Cellar Door and the ushering in of sixth-generation Chief Winemaker, Madden Morris.
Established in 1859, George Francis Morris created a small vineyard and winery near Rutherglen, with a trial vineyard plot three kilometres west of the current Morris site location.
By 1885, plantings had grown to over 600 acres, making Morris the largest wine producer in the Southern Hemisphere.
In 1897, Charles Hughes Morris, son of George, established a new vineyard, the Mia Mia Vineyard where the winery and distillery stands today. To secure the property, Charles was reluctantly forced to sell the family’s beloved prize-winning racehorse, Fairfield.
Mick Morris commenced his first official vintage as winemaker in 1953, quickly becoming a pioneer of Durif as a table wine varietal. Mick’s son, David Morris then became the fifth generation winemaker in 1993 and by combining years of winemaking tradition with modern techniques, David became one of the most awarded winemakers in Australia.
Today, Morris of Rutherglen is not only a longstanding family winery but has grown to become one of the most acclaimed fortified and whisky producers in the world.
Starting off as an experiment to revive the original 1930s dormant copper, in 2016 soon became the creation of a premium single malt whisky.
The unique Morris Whisky flavour comes from finishing in casks which have held a selection of award-winning Morris fortified wines. Morris of Rutherglen combines decades of tradition using the heritage still and ancient fortified wine producing casks with contemporary techniques to create a whisky that is a true expression of time and place.
Morris Wines Cellar Door in the 1970s.
Working with Casella Family Brands, Australia’s largest family-owned wine company, enabled the Morris family to preserve their history and built on their legacy to propel the brand to the international stage.
Since then, Morris of Rutherglen’s portfolio of wines has received more than 407 Golds and above, and Morris’ whisky collection has received 130 Golds since its inception.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Madden Morris was announced as sixth-generation Chief Winemaker at Morris of Rutherglen earlier this year.
Growing up walking around the Cellar and learning directly from his father, David and grandfather, Mick has allowed Madden to keep a keen eye on the winery’s focus on tradition, with an intuitive sense on the future generations to come.
While Madden holds experience all over the world, he considers Rutherglen and his family essential to his journey in winemaking.
He has been able to work with wines that generations of Morris hands have touched before, noting that the region’s supportive community is at the winery’s heart.
“It is a fantastic achievement to be able to celebrate 165 years of Morris winemaking and we look forward to continuing the guardianship of Morris winemaking going forward into future years,” Madden said.
“It is a massively different place than when I had left to go up to Griffith seven or eight years ago with all the changes we have gone through.
“Obviously the whisky came on board not long after I took off and now we have the gin, we are constantly changing so it has been a fun challenge.
“My grandfather would say when my father came into the business, a couple more things got automated. “Probably now I’m here a few more things will get changed but the wine making process we keep pretty traditional but it is just those added techniques that you find out from around the place.
As part of his inception into the family business, in June of this year, Morris of Rutherglen completed the renovation of its iconic Cellar Door and Whisky Distillery following an extensive refurbishment project.
The revitalised space offers visitors an immersive experience of the rich heritage and craftsmanship where you can taste a full flight of whisky expressions, alongside the award-winning fortified wines that influenced them.
“Our big one for how we have maintained the name and business over so many decades is just our traditional winemaking techniques. We haven’t changed too much for what we’ve done well for so long,” Madden said.
“Having a multigenerational span on the business too, I will taste test a wine then bring my father and grandfather in to have those checks and balances that really define our style and quality levels.
“Hopefully next year we will have another good vintage off the back of 2024, it is looking promising at the moment.
“There is still a lot of construction going on here, getting the cellar door flowing.
“Just to see the growth and when it is full of people, it is pretty cool.”
Morris of Rutherglen now boasts a new tasting room, landscaped gardens, and the opportunity for a whisky and wine immersion that weaves through the ancient barrel-house to the heart of the distillery where you can view the original 1930s copper still. The worlds of exquisite, fortified wine and Australian single malt whisky are now all in one place.
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