Gil Wahlquist, who planted Australia’s first organic grapevines at Botobolar in 1971, died on December 7 at his home in Hunters Hill at the age of 85.
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Eric Gilbert Wahlquist was known as the godfather of the organic wine industry, and he authored Some of my Best Friends are Winemakers, a comprehensive anecdotal history of the Mudgee wine industry.
Mr Wahlquist was a former Sydney Morning Herald journalist working for public relations consultants Neilson McCarthy when he and wife Vincie resolved to escape the rat race by planting grapes at Mudgee at the end of 1970.
Although they planned to spend a few years working the vineyard on weekends and returning to their Sydney jobs through the week, after around six months they asked themselves, “Why are we driving back to Sydney?”
Mr Wahlquist became editor of the Mudgee Guardian at the invitation of the new owner, Doug McGregor, and Mrs Wahlquist took a teaching position at Mudgee Public School.
They learned the secrets of organic vineyard management through trial and error, and by sharing their experiences, influenced practices at vineyards around the country.
Mr Wahlquist was a founding member of wine organisations including the Mudgee Wine Grape Growers Association and the Australian Small Winemaker’s Association.
He helped to found the Small Farm Field Days, the Mudgee Wine Show, and Wine Week, which would develop into the modern Mudgee Wine and Food Festival.
His name is attached to the trophy for Best Wine of the Show at the Australian and New Zealand Organic Wine Show, as well as the Mudgee Wine Show’s trophy for best organic/biodynamic/preservative-free wine.
When he was awarded the Graham Gregory Trophy for his vital contribution to NSW wine at the 2008 NSW Wine Industry Awards, Mr Walquist was described as being “almost single-handedly responsible for establishing the Mudgee wine industry, and training the next generation of wine industry employees.”
“He persuaded Mudgee wine and food producers to work together for the recognition of their region as a premium food producer, and the region’s viticulture industry is now worth an estimated $45 million annually,” said Barry Buffier, then deputy director of Industry and Investment NSW.
“We also have Mr Wahlquist to thank for Australia’s profile in the international wine industry - it was he who persuaded the federal minister for agriculture to fund the first promotion of Australian wines on a regional basis.
“Gil was a pioneer of the organic growing of wine grapes, and became one of the leading experts in the organic wine industry.”
Mr Wahlquist sold Botobolar to its current owners, Kevin and Trina Karstrom, in 1994.
“It’s a sad loss for the wine industry; he was instrumental in so many great things in Mudgee,” said Mudgee Wine Grape Growers president Andrew Stein.
“He was a very community-minded man. He was a leader ahead of his time, really.”
