Wine family is stronger together

Alister Purbrick Tahbilk

The family behind acclaimed Nagambie winery Tahbilk is enjoying a big year, writes BILLIE DAVERN.
As the Purbricks mark their 100th year of ownership of the 165-year-old Tahbilk Estate, they also celebrated a significant achievement by the family’s patriarch.
On January 26, Tahbilk’s current director and former chief executive Alister Purbrick was recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia.
Alister, a stalwart of the wine industry, has been a cornerstone of Tahbilk for more than four decades, having served as director since 1980 and as chief executive until 2022.
In 1925, Tahbilk Estate was bought by Alister’s great-grandfather Reginald, who, alongside his son, Alister’s grandfather, Eric, found an instant love for the property.
Decades later, when Alister finished his Year 12 studies, he had a conversation with his family that ultimately transformed the trajectory of his life.
It was during this conversation that Alister decided he would become the first formally trained winemaker in the family, and headed off to Adelaide to study at the former Roseworthy Agricultural College.
In 1977, during the reign of Alister’s father, John, Alister received a call that Tahbilk was suffering due to natural events.
Alister spoke to his father about the fate of Tahbilk and he recalls his father saying, ‘so, we’re going to have to employ a qualified winemaker. Is it going to be you or are we going to employ somebody else?’.
“And then, I thought, ‘well, I’m going to go back home anyway, ultimately’,” Alister said.
“So, do I want to inherit someone else’s view or version of whatever the winemaking might be when I come back, or do I want to be part of the change?.
“Obviously, I decided to be part of the change.”

At the end of the following year, Alister was appointed general manager and then chief executive two years later in 1980.
Alister was initially unsure how he would fit into this new management position.
“So winemaking, I was fine with, you know, having three or four years in the industry, that gave me enough experience to do what I had to do here,” he said.
“But management, industry experience, I had none of that.”
Alister said that it was his family’s roots in Tahbilk that allowed him to succeed.
“I leant on Grandfather Eric a lot in the early days and we became very close from that,” he said.
“If I hadn’t had Grandfather here, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. He was a really good mentor to me.”
Over the years, Alister’s contribution to the industry has been instrumental in shaping it into what it has become today.
Some of his many appointments have included Australian Grape and Wine Inc (formally Winemakers’ Federation of Australia) president, Australian Regional Winemakers’ Forum president, Wine Australia (formally Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) inaugural chair and Australian First Families of Wine.
He was also a Strathbogie Shire councillor from 2012 to 2016 and has been a member of the council’s Audit and Risk Committee since 2016.
Alister’s AM sits alongside other acknowledgements such as the Len Evans Award for Australian Wine Industry Leadership, which he received in 2012, as well as the Victorian Legend of the Vine of the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, awarded to him in 2023.
Alister said he was overwhelmed by the support.
Although he never set out to receive such recognition, he feels a sense of contentment that his hard work has been acknowledged.
“Without the expectation there, it’s pretty humbling to receive it,” he said.
“Having said that, I’m pretty comfortable with the recognition, because I have put in a lot of hard yards, particularly for the industry, but also around the community.
“And that’s just something I’ve been happy to do, it’s something I enjoy doing, giving back.
“It’s one thing for me to get it, but I know of others, particularly in our industry, who are as, if not more, deserving than me, so I think we need to rectify that over the coming years.”