"We've often talked about how Penfolds can't just be this traditional wine brand. If you're just maintaining what you have, you're drifting backwards. You have to progress, you have to maintain innovation, you have to maintain a vision, and that's part of the Penfolds culture as well."

– Peter Gago, Chief Winemaker at Penfolds and custodian of the Penfolds Grange

(Source: Greg Wood / AFP)

More than just Australia's most iconic winemaker, the Penfolds of today is undeniably one of the most celebrated and influential producers on the global stage. Founded in 1844, Penfolds has evolved from its humble beginnings in Adelaide to become synonymous with the pinnacle of fine winemaking, driven by a relentless pursuit of quality and innovation. Its flagship, Penfolds Grange, has achieved legendary status, consistently ranked among the greatest wines worldwide, admired for its bold expression of Australian terroir and impeccable craftsmanship.

Behind the success and evolving vision of Penfolds stands celebrated Chief Winemaker Peter Gago, who has steered this iconic brand into the modern era. Peter is only the fourth Chief Winemaker in Penfolds’ 180-odd-year history, carrying the torch for over two decades. During his tenure, he has not only meticulously preserved the revered legacy of Grange but has boldly expanded Penfolds' horizons, pioneering cross-continental blends and firmly placing Penfolds at the forefront of innovative global wine production. His visionary approach has undeniably shaped the contemporary identity of Australian fine wine, marking a defining chapter in its storied history.

Peter, with the rest of Penfolds’ winemaking team at the company's historic Magill Estate.

What many might find surprising is that Peter Gago did not begin his journey amidst vineyards or cellars. Instead, he started his professional life in a Melbourne classroom, teaching mathematics and chemistry for eight years. Wine was simply an interest for Peter, a leisurely pursuit that steadily transformed into an enduring passion. One day he told his wife Gail about his decision to pursue oenology seriously. This spontaneous yet decisive moment led them to pack their bags, leave Melbourne behind, and move to Adelaide—a courageous mid-career leap of faith that certainly raised eyebrows among their friends at the time. Fast forward to today, and Peter stands proudly as the custodian of Penfolds’ top cuvée, the Grange, and helms the world’s most well-known Australian wine producer.

Peter speaking with King Charles (then, the Prince of Wales) at Penfolds' Magill Estate during Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Tour in 2012 (Source: AAP)

I recently had the distinct privilege of sitting down with Peter when he and Delphine Frey of Domaine de La Chapelle dropped by Singapore to unveil Penfolds’ latest ambitious offering—the Grange La Chapelle cross-continental masterpiece blending the finest French Syrah and Australian Shiraz (read our in-depth review of the Grange la Chapelle here!). Seizing this rare opportunity, I aimed to truly get to know the man behind Penfolds.

Our conversation traversed the wines that first captivated his imagination, his reflections on his remarkable journey at Penfolds, and the invaluable advice he has for aspiring young winemakers.

Delphine Frey and Peter Gago, leading our tasting of the Grange La Chapelle 2021.

Peter’s personality effortlessly shone through his cultivated accent during our chat, with a distinctive twinkle in his voice. Yet beneath this affable exterior and warmth lies a remarkable mental agility, and a profound emotional connection to wine that is evident with every anecdote and thoughtful pause.

What follows is our candid, insightful, and deeply engaging conversation with Peter Gago–the visionary who continues to sow the seeds of dedication and innovation at Penfolds while it redefines Australian wine on the world stage.

Penfolds’ latest cross-continent collaboration with Domaine de La Chapelle, the inaugural Grange La Chapelle 2021, is now available through the Grange La Chapelle website.

"Back in those days you could buy the world's best wines for not very much money... but now, if you want to buy a Lafite, Le Pin or Petrus, you've got to go and see the bank manager. When I grew up, I was very lucky, and I had like-minded friends, and we'd share wines and share bottles."

– Peter Gago, on the affordability of great wines when he was growing up

[88B]: There’re several famous anecdotes that illustrate your obsession with wine –you’ve once donated two prized bottles from your own cellar to support the political campaign of your wife, Gail (herself a prominent South Australian politician), only to be struck with seller’s remorse and track down the raffle winners to buy them back. All these paints a picture of someone utterly enamoured with wine – not just making it, but collecting and even occasionally scheming to get back a beloved bottle.

So tell us–what were those two prized bottles you had to get back, and what was so special about them to you?

[Peter]: Well, one of them was the 1979 Krug Clos du Mesnil which is the first ever made. I had to buy that one back. And another one was a 1978 Ramonet Montrachet, the very first ever made… I was so tempted – that bottle’s priceless! There’s only like a barrique or two made of it!

[88B]: And while we’re on the subject, could you share any particular wines that were arguably pivotal in starting the “grip of the grape” for you – what were those pivotal bottles that pulled you down the rabbit hole of becoming such a big lover of wine?

[Peter]: I think even within the Penfolds context, I joked earlier that my friends were buying cars and I was buying wine, and back in those days you could buy the world's best wines for not very much money. They were more expensive than other wines, but now, if you want to buy a Lafite, Le Pin or Petrus, you've got to go and see the bank manager. When I grew up, I was very lucky, and I had like-minded friends, and we'd share wines and share bottles.

So even Grange back in the day… I've got quite a lot of wines from the 1950s of Grange that I paid not very much money for! I've drunk and shared some of them. There were wines from the great Henri Jayer from Burgundy, which I bought for not much money. If only I'd kept a few cases, I could build a house with them! Now, I have no regrets. The only reason I shared them with friends, I was trying to convert them into the world of Pinot Noir. And what was I using? The Cros‑Parantoux which is that of Henri Jayer!

And I remember many years later, I was at VinExpo, and he came with his nephew. And back in the day, people weren't into glasses and all that, but he had his own glass, which was quite a few years ago. And I was pouring the great Henri Jayer, and I felt like a complete pretender. And I thought, “Here’s the full circle—like the mountain coming to Mohammed.” *Laughs*. I'll never forget that experience. And I must admit, I knew Henri was very good, and I knew the wines were very good, but since his death, now it's taken on… they are so expensive and so venerated and every bottle open is one bottle less in existence so pricing that goes up.

There are lots of little odd things like that that happened all the way through. Great collectors– whether they're billionaires– they remember where they bought it, how much they bought it for, the story of not just the pour but how they found it, how they've sold it, mistakes they've made in getting there. I was very fortunate in that regard, to have a very understanding wife.

"So going from the concept to the reality, there's a big gap and while you could have great ideas, you have to be able to implement them. That's why I'm still at Penfolds! You're given license to do that sort of thing."

[88B] After graduating as dux (valedictorian) of the Oenology program at Roseworthy College in Adelaide, you joined Penfolds in 1989 as a Sparkling Winemaker. Penfolds’ sparkling portfolio has undergone – as you described – a “seismic shift” from its early beginnings with the 1912 Penfolds Minchinbury, which for decades defined Australian sparkling wine, to the eventual pausing of sparkling production, until you helped usher in a new era of Champagne collaboration with Thiénot in France, marking Penfolds’ ambitious return to sparkling wines.

What are some lessons or insights from those early years making sparkling wines that still stay with you today? Are there any shared philosophies or threads that connect your earlier work in sparkling with your approach to other wines of Penfolds’ portfolio like the Grange today?

[Peter]: Absolutely. At Roseworthy College, you had to do a major project in the final year. But I did it as a two-year project. So in the second last year I made several types of wine, and in the final year I analysed them. It is very hard to extrapolate what a red wine is going to be like in the future, but for sparkling wine and Champagne, it’s even harder.

So when we launched our Champagnes at the Ritz in France it was lovely symbolically to have the 1912 Penfolds Minchinbury alongside the 2012 Thiénot–Penfolds Blanc de Blanc from Avize or Thiénot–Penfolds Blanc de Noir from Aÿ – a hundred years in between them! Symbolically, this wasn't just a dalliance. This is part of the psyche of Penfolds. These are great [winemaking] families. They’re the people we’re working with, and they’re wonderful alliances.

[88B] Beyond South Australia, Penfolds has ventured into ambitious partnerships that span continents–most notably with not just Domaine de la Chapelle, but also Thiénot in Champagne and Dourthe in Bordeaux. These collaborations can appear serendipitous, as if the stars aligned at just the right moment.

But what exactly do you look for–or perhaps feel instinctively–about a potential collaboration partner that makes you think, “Yes, we have to create something together”? What qualities, philosophies, or even personalities in these partners signal to you a strong potential for collaboration?

[Peter]: To have worked with La Chapelle is like – woah –a dream come true! But how do you make it happen? Well you make it happen in a real way, and you just sense that well the hill of Hermitage is a very special place. We don't have a vineyard on it like M. Chapoutier, or Chave does, or the Frey family of La Chapelle. So what could we possibly do to synergise? As I have written, it starts as a “what if” discussion. But I often say words come cheaply. What’s after words? We made it happen.

Now, we didn't make it happen aggressively or manipulatively. We made it happen diplomatically and sensitively, in a lovely wine-altruistic way. It was real and it happened. So going from the concept to the reality, there's a big gap and while you could have great ideas, you have to be able to implement them. That's why I'm still at Penfolds! You're given license to do that sort of thing, but also the legality of it too. This would have been impossible 20, 30, 40 years ago.

Take the Penfolds V Chardonnay that was recently made by our White Winemaker, Kym Schroeder. I said “Kym, don't mind, put your name next to the quote by an anonymous [sceptical] person who said: ‘This won't work. It'll oxidise. it'll gain colour…’” Now he thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread!

Sometimes you've got to be a little bit brave, a little bit courageous. Without the Kyms [of the wine world], you wouldn't have had the ingredients. Without the winemaking team, these things wouldn't happen. So it's not a person, it's the winemaking team, it's the collective. And that's why you don't see my signature as Chief Winemaker on a bottle of Penfolds, but sometimes the seeds have to be sown by someone, and then watered by someone else, and then harvested by someone else. The lawn has to be cut by someone else again. This is where the team thing is really important. It's not just tokenistic, it's the essence of Penfolds. It can involve the winemaking team, the collective, the culture. Everyone has a role and an awareness.

"Even if I like a bottle of wine, I wouldn’t have the same bottle again. Something different, something new! Play the same song again? No, show me something different, something new. So my cellars are quite eclectic and always have been, and my taste in wine are eclectic and always have been."

[88B]: From sparkling wines to Grange, many wines in the Penfolds Collection have become timeless fixtures––benchmark expressions that form the bedrock of the Penfolds identity, and become chapters in a narrative of Australian wine. There are also fleeting legends, bottlings that appeared for a moment and left a lasting impression, like Bin 60A, that famed blend of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Barossa Shiraz, first released in 1962, revived briefly in 2004, then retired again.

Having grown up with these wines since your twenties, tasting them, perhaps collecting them or at the least knowing of their reputations, have any of these wines taken on a new meaning or significance to you over time, compared to when you first encountered them early on in your wine journey? Do you find yourself reflecting differently on their legacy, and did your view of them become more nuanced or perhaps more emotional having become their custodian?

[Peter]: The word custodian is a great word, and with the word custodian comes the word respect. And we've often talked about how Penfolds can't just be this traditional wine brand. If you're just maintaining what you have, you're drifting backwards. You have to progress, you have to maintain innovation, you have to maintain a vision, and that's part of the Penfolds culture as well. I’ve spent 36 years at Penfolds, but I started collecting Penfolds a lot earlier. I have looked at those wines 20, 30, 40 years ago, tasting these wines from over 40 years now. So I'm drinking Penfolds almost illegally *Laughs*. And it is a real journey. One of my things is, like with music and wine, at the restaurant, even if I like a bottle of wine, I wouldn’t have the same bottle again. Something different, something new! Play the same song again? No, show me something different, something new. So my cellars are quite eclectic and always have been, and my taste in wine are eclectic and always have been. And I guess with Penfolds’ older wines, well, they've transformed, and there are so many different styles.

I've worked with Penfolds for 36 years which saw different owners or managements, and Penfolds has steered its way through all of that and maintained a very strong and visionary direction. Do what you do well. Those earlier wines, what great examples! The St Henri started in 1888. We maintain the same template. So what's old is new again! “Oh, this is such a contemporary style of wine.” Well, if 1888 is contemporary! And then there’s Bin 389 which I’ve shown people how that’s where quality and pricing intersect in a sweet spot. To have these benchmarks, how lucky, how lucky!

At Penfolds’ Magill Estate, I started the Cellar Reserve range [to experiment with non-traditional grape varieties]. The Pinot was in 1997, the first Sangiovese, our first natural wine, 1998. Then Tempranillo crept in.

That [approach] was quite new and novel. We want Penfolds to be the world's biggest boutique winery. Philosophically, that's what we want Penfolds to be.

And what we also want it to be is a top-down thing. If you look at Penfolds in the modern era, Grange came first, our flagship. From the 1940s, 50s onwards, Grange came first, then Bin 707 in 1964, with Bin 28 in 1959 and Bin 128 in 1962. Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet came out in 1976. So it was very much a top-down approach. So we're quite proud of that heritage and the way it sort of worked. And the aspirations are dovetailed into that, and the benchmarks have been so good. Of course, at the same time, you have to taste other people's wines all the time.

"At the end of it all, it's basically: is it a good wine? Is this worthwhile pursuing? Is it pragmatic? Because it's got to be great, and at a price it's got to be great. If it's at that level, is it sustainable? Can you grow it? Can you get value over time?"

[88B] In Penfolds’ 180-odd years of history, only four people have held the title of Chief Winemaker. You’re the fourth, following in the formidable footsteps of Max Schubert, who created Grange against all odds; then Don Ditter, and John Duval.

You haven’t just inherited this legacy, you’ve lived it, and had personally known Penfolds’ most important figures, including the pioneering wine chemist Dr. Ray Beckwith, who was using a Cambridge pH meter to revolutionise wine quality in the 1940s, decades ahead of the global curve. Being surrounded by such titanic figures in winemaking must have offered no shortage of wisdom and perhaps even a few quiet moments that left a lasting impression!

Having personally known such figures at Penfolds, have there been any interactions that stand out to you as especially meaningful?

[Peter]: Oh yes, Dr. Ray Beckwith. Now Dr. Ray Beckwith made Max Schubert look good. I always remember Ray in his mid to late 90s, I felt a little bit sorry for him for being sent to lead the odd event. That’s until I went to my first event with him, and there he was, in a three piece tweed suit at [the age of] 96, table hopping, working the room, amazing!

Whenever I invited him to events, he'd write me a lovely handwritten note of gratitude. I saw him literally a few weeks before his final 101st birthday – sharp as a tack. I hosted a luncheon for him when he turned 100 at Ackland at my homestead, and I gathered people who have been meaningful to his winemaking career. And he gave a talk, word perfect, 100 years old. 22 minutes into his talk, I pointed to the watch. He took it in his stride and said, “Look, I've been talking for a while now,” and he actually used the expression, “I'll do the rest offline.” He's 100 years old! Dr Ray Beckwith!

Having contact with people like him was so invigorating, stimulating. He was doing pH stuff before any winemaker in Germany, Italy, anywhere else. But in those days, very secret school, very in-house.

Peter with Penfolds' highly influential former Chief Chemist Dr Ray Beckwith at his 100th birthday party.

"They say the tide rises – so with a lot of these wines at Penfolds, you create the halo and other [producers] benefit. In Australia, our competitors have a begrudging respect for what Grange does."

[88B] You've mentioned that Penfolds seeks to become a truly global wine brand-yet you emphasise remaining, in spirit, a boutique producer at heart. This spirit allows Penfolds to pursue those exciting "what if" scenarios: crafting limited, small-run wines that aren't necessarily largely scalable, but significantly enrich and deepen the Penfolds story. In doing so, you manage to maintain the classic Penfolds House Style across a diverse array of contexts and terroirs.

How do you personally think about growing the world of Penfolds when considering new projects or directions to pursue? When you’re looking beyond the commercial metrics, what tells you a project has enough soul or uniqueness and alignment with House Style to justify its place in the Penfolds portfolio?

[Peter]: Well, I always fall back upon the premise of whatever it is, it's got to be a real thing, not an indulgence, not a gimmick. That's hugely important. At the end of it all, it's basically: is it a good wine? Is this worthwhile pursuing? Is it pragmatic? Because it's got to be great, and at a price it's got to be great. If it's at that level, is it sustainable? Can you grow it? Can you get value over time? There are many, many variables. And then of course, now being part of Treasury Wine Estates, that's where the marketing teams will come in.

But again, falling back on that mantra, wine comes first. You've got to have that wine-first approach. So far we've been very lucky. These wines weren’t generated by focus groups. They’ve been generated on the bench. And then does it become a reality? Well that's where you then have to start weighing things up. A question was asked earlier about price – could we be working on the Grange La Chapelle project if each bottle was $80? No, we'd go broke! There are certain pragmatisms and things become what they are as a result of.

There was a newspaper headline on the street that went something like “First Thousand-Dollar Plus Wine Out of Coonawarra” And all of Coonawarra celebrated that a wine we made, Bin 620, costs more than a thousand dollars! Rather than going “Ugh, $1,000?” they celebrated the fact that Coonawarra could make such a wine. And I was just so thrilled by that. They say the tide rises – so with a lot of these wines at Penfolds, you create the halo and other [producers] benefit.

In Australia, our competitors have a begrudging respect for what Grange does. They're brutal out in the trade, but there is this, and I know that for a fact. We had the big, beautiful book written, “A Year in the Life of Grange” by Milton Wordley. He followed me around the world in 2012 – he put this beautiful book together himself, and it wasn't a Penfolds project. This book appears in the cellar doors of many of our competitors celebrating this Australian wine called Grange. True story! Those things have real gravitas. Yeah, if things work, there's got to be a certain amount of pragmatism.

"In marketing, they refer to it as “NPD” or “new product development.” I don't think of it that way. I think “wow, what about that” and as I say even natural wines, I love them if they're good – our Penfolds Cellar Reserve Sangiovese was probably the first, though we never called it a natural wine."

[88B]: If commercial constraints could be completely removed from the table, could you share with us any emerging themes or styles that have intrigued you as personal “what if’s” floating around in your own mind – even if it’s purely for your own interest?

[Peter]: Well, in many ways, by answering that question, people would tell me “You should retire now, Peter.” Because what else would I do? Number one, single vineyard Champagne – we're doing it. Climbing the hill of Hermitage? We're doing it. Buying some Château in France? We're doing it. Selling a lot of wine in China, making wine in China? We're doing it. So maybe they should just sack me now *Laughs*.

Now, not all of these ideas have only come from me, don't get me wrong. But there are still certain projects that really excite me and get me out of bed each morning. In marketing, they refer to it as “NPD” or “new product development.” I don't think of it that way. I think “wow, what about that” and as I say even natural wines, I love them if they're good – our Penfolds Cellar Reserve Sangiovese was probably the first, though we never called it a natural wine. The first vintage was in 1998 – Sangiovese in barrel, a wine fermented with no inoculation, no fining, no filtration. The only thing in the bottle other than Sangiovese berries is a quick squirt of sulfur dioxide, minimal, at the end pre-bottling. How lucky that we've done a lot of that! I'm not saying there's nothing else we can do. There's a lot we can do, but I'd have to kill you if I told you what it was. *Laughs*

[88B]: We’ve read that one of your favourite restaurants in your hometown of Adelaide is the modern Asian restaurant, Bai Long Store.

If you could name one of your favourite Asian dishes – what would it be, and what Penfolds wine would you reach into the cellar to pair with that dish?

[Peter]: It was many years ago, I was working in Hong Kong, and half the group were wine writers, the rest of the group were food writers. And we're in this restaurant there and I asked what is the best Chinese restaurant in Australia? The word came out that it was Flower Drum Melbourne.

The iconic Peking Duck dish at Flower Drum Melbourne.

It's still there and they make their Peking Duck. It's the simplest and it's the most sublime if done properly, with a Blanc de Noir Champagne on the one hand, which sounds really odd, and/or with very old Penfolds St Henri from the 1950s or the 60s. Magnificent. That's not a modern day Asian dish, but say when I'm here in Singapore tonight, I'll have a Laksa. Unbelievable. No one like Singapore does it. And I just had to have it. And I've tried lots of wine combinations with laksa, I must admit sometimes I go back to beer with it *laughs* but yeah I've tried different Champagnes and I've tried less-oaked wines and whatever. But from my perspective the jury's still out.

I was in Singapore once at the Four Seasons with the great chef David Thompson from Darley Street Thai (Sydney). He used to advise the Thai Royal Family’s chefs. So we did this David Thompson-Peter Gago-Penfolds-Darley Street Thai dinner at the Four Seasons here in Singapore many years ago. It was a classic food and wine dinner, but nothing went with anything *laughs*. People recognised that straight away. So we ended up compromising. We'd have our wine, wait a few moments, have his dish, wait a few minutes, have the next one. Still, nothing paired. And it was one of the great wine and food dinners! We didn't pretend that was working because they all clash with the sugar, the spice, the heat and it was incredible.

"Tenacity and resilience. Those the two traits. The hours of winemaking are ridiculous during harvest. But you have to do it."

[88B]: What advice would you give to young winemakers?

[Peter]: People have asked me what traits are essential for winemaking. People expect a great palate –no. Tenacity and resilience. Those the two traits.

It's a given that their organoleptic skills are quite good, and most people start there, including myself. Then experientially you build on that over time - you train your palate and you train your wine memory.

Peter welcoming China's Premier Li Qiang at Penfolds' Magill Estate in 2024 (Source: AFP)

But the hours! I didn't sleep much last night because I made a mistake of going to the computer which is the worst thing you can do at 1 o’clock, so at 4.30 AM this morning, I’m still awake. It's amazing I'm even making any sense right now.

On the road, I'm a very bad sleeper anyway. I don't sleep the first night in a hotel. Quite often when I'm on the road, I'm only in a hotel one night, so I just don't sleep. I don't sleep on planes. This tenacity and resilience, the hours of winemaking are ridiculous during harvest. But you have to do it.

You might be entertaining people in the winery you don't really like, but you've got to give them a great experience and act as if it's the first time and add energy. With the wines, you might get slap, slap, don't like it, don't like it, à la Max Schubert with Grange originally. Perseverance. But yeah, tenacity and resilience. And then just be patient with the other skills that come on later on. But put the wine first, have the vision, listen to people, take advice.

I could be talking about an artist here, I could be talking about a plumber, I could be talking about a brain surgeon–similar sorts of skills to go to the next level.

[88B]: It’s been an incredible privilege to speak with you, Peter. Thank you for your time!

Penfolds’s latest cross-continent collaboration with Domaine de La Chapelle, the inaugural Grange La Chapelle 2021, is now available through the Grange La Chapelle website.

@CharsiuCharlie