Husband and wife team Andrew and Lisa Margan, together with their children Ollie, Alessa and James, are celebrating 20 years of award winning winemaking at their Broke Fordwich Estate in the Hunter Valley this year.
Along with a series of lunches and dinners at the Margan Cellar Door and Restaurant, the family has released a number of pioneering wines under the Breaking Ground label, as well as the world’s first vintage off-dry Semillon vermouth. The Margan Vermouth 2015 was unveiled at a lunch at Margan Family Wines on 26 May.
Andrew Margan is chief winemaker and viticulturist, while Lisa Margan develops the estate-grown projects (lambs, bees, garden and smallgoods) and manages the Margan Restaurant and Cellar Door.
To recognise the brand’s anniversary, Andrew Margan, together with son Ollie, created an off-dry Semillon vermouth. Now 24, Ollie is based in Adelaide where he is in his final year of a double degree of Oenology and Viticulture at Adelaide University and is managing partner of Maybe Mae (2015 Best Cocktail Bar, South Australia, Australian Bar Awards).
Ollie said, “It’s been a really enjoyable process putting this together and we are really happy with the result. Vermouth is starting to regain significant momentum in the international bar scene and there is no reason, given our access to unique botanicals and flavours, that Australia shouldn’t be leading the charge. What we have come up with stands alone in the category, which is a really exciting prospect.”
Margan Vermouth is made with a mix of 22 aromatics including orange peel, star anise and bergamot, the majority of which are sourced from the one acre Margan Restaurant kitchen garden.
