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THE MESSAGE 18 / the tasting panel / may 2015 THE MESSAGE PHOTO: COURTESY OF YALUMBA PHOTO: COURTESY OF YALUMBA PHOTO: COURTESY OF YALUMBA PHOTO: COURTESY OF YALUMBA The Man, the Myth, the Legend T he hardest people to interview are the humble giants—the trailblaz- ers and visionaries who are champions for their art and trade, yet graciously decline the spotlight and soapbox when pressed. There is no better example of this than Robert Hill-Smith, fifth-generation head of Yalumba, Australia's oldest family-owned winery, founded in 1849. Although Hill-Smith grew up on the "farm" (his term for the Yalumba property), his childhood dream was to be a sports photographer "roam- ing the world, taking photos." The inevitability of his role in the family biz caught up with him when he worked a harvest during his gap year between high school and university. "By the second day of harvest, the certainty had sunk in," and in 1985 Hill-Smith took the helm of his fam- ily's iconic Australian winery. (Don't fret the cast-off childhood dreams however; Hill-Smith is still "keen on photography" and collects vintage photographs as a hobby.) Demure in his own promotion, Hill-Smith prefers to highlight the talents of his winemaking team and the success of Australian wines on the whole. This latter point is perhaps what makes him a perfect fit as the newly appointed chairman of Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW). Founded in 2009, AFFW works to educate and raise consumer awareness of quality Australian wine. "Internationally, our mission is to educate, share and celebrate Australia's fine wine heritage, quality and diversity with wine enthusiasts around the world and encourage demand for Australian fine wines," shares Hill-Smith. "Collectively we represent 16 wine regions, four states, 48 generations of winemakers and over 1,200 years of experience." Ever the quiet innova- tor with an eye to the past and his direction towards the future, Robert Hill-Smith represents the best of Australia's rich history and its sustained success in the years to come. See the upcoming June/July issue of The SOMM Journal for a recap of our in-house tasting with Yalumba winemaker Jane Ferrari. The 2015 North America tour of Australia's First Families of Wine, coordinated by Wine Australia, will include 13 events over 14 days in five cities in the U.S. and Canada, starting in mid-May. For more info on the tour, turn to page 106. by Karen Moneymaker Among the family's prized vineyards is this old-vine Grenache planted in 1898 in the Barossa Valley. Archived photo of the Yalumba Wine Company, circa 1925. YALUMBA'S ROBERT HILL-SMITH CARRIES THE BANNER FOR AUSTRALIAN WINE HERITAGE AND MODERN DIVERSITY