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Liam McElhinney’s astonishing show-circuit success at Lowestoft once seemed to me like lightning from a blue sky. The land of the long white cloud had seen it all before—twice over—but I was oblivious. The irreverent, self-effacing bloke I met during the Covid years, who spun a tragicomic tale of lording it up in a Tassie mansion during lockdown while his wife and kids were sequestered in New Zealand, wasn’t obviously a wine wunderkind grown old and wise. But that’s Liam, I guess; one of the most easy-going hard-workers you could meet.

This was an enjoyable conversation with a charismatic raconteur. As is always the case, there is plenty of depth, though—both in detail and in the up-and-down, cut-and-thrust of an ambitious go-getter with an open, original mind. And succeeding, mind you, in an agricultural pursuit that is rarely, if ever, straightforward.

When Liam and I first crossed paths, he was in Melbourne with Julian Langworthy, who gave a cracking interview—similarly lighthearted with several serious lessons—for episode 26 of the Vininspo! podcast. Liam and Jules are kind of distant cousins within an Australian family winemaking tree, which itself could do with some untangling, not least so you can get to grips with some of the brands mentioned.

That family business is called Fogarty Hall Fine Wine Estates. One of its founders, Peter Fogarty, appears in the chapter where Liam is lured to Tasmania. In 2019, Fogarty and a partner, Rod Roberts, acquired the assets and business of the collapsed contract facility Winemaking Tasmania, rechristening it Tasmanian Vintners. Liam became chief winemaker of this new entity.

Fogarty Hall’s Tasmanian portfolio now includes the brands Ossa (founded by Rod Roberts and his wife Cecile), Thalia, Strelley Farm and, most famously, Lowestoft. Liam was sitting amid the grandeur of the 1840s-built Lowestoft homestead on the banks of the Derwent River when we recorded the podcast. This label, in particular, has brought Liam head-turning show success, including the prestigious Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 2023.

The unrivalled variety—and quality—of grapes that Liam works with in his role has fast-tracked him to being an authority on this small island’s remarkably varied terroirs. We talk about these climatic variations, especially in the Derwent Valley, Coal River Valley and East Coast.

On the mainland, Fogarty Hall owns Deep Woods in Margaret River, where Julian Langworthy has made his mark as one of the most decorated winemakers of his generation. Lake’s Folly (Hunter Valley), Dalwhinnie (Pyrenees) and Evans & Tate (Margaret River) are among the wineries in the same stable.

Turning back the clock to Liam’s Kiwi days, he mentions formative encounters with Cloudy Bay founding winemaker Kevin Judd, now of Greywacke, and Jane Ferrari, long-serving brand ambassador for Yalumba in the Barossa. The Central Otago pioneers mentioned are Rudi Bauer (Quartz Reef), Grant Taylor (formerly Gibbston Valley, later establishing Valli) and Lois Mills of Rippon.

In Hawke’s Bay, Warren Gibson and Trinity Hill are discussed at length with Bilancia’s Lorraine Leheny in episode 44. John Hancock also crops up there, and there’s also an overlap in my conversation with Kym Milne MW for episode 41. The same, in fact, goes for Craggy Range visionary Steve Smith MW (episode 16).

Looming large in Liam’s Marlborough years are the figures of John and Brent Marris. Brent played a lead role in launching the Delegat brand Oyster Bay before building up Wither Hills, which was eventually sold to the drinks giant Lion Nathan (now Lion).

The Ned is the name of the next Sauvignon Blanc brand to go viral at Marris’s hand, with Liam integral to that growth. Waihopai is the subregion linked to its point of difference, coming to prominence after the Wairau and Awatere valleys.

From The Ned, Liam progressed to te Pā, teaming up with its founder, Haysley MacDonald. And one more person who should be acknowledged is Liam’s long-suffering wife, Gemma Lyons. Gemma works for Ossa, but I first came across her during her time with Wairau River, another Marlborough family estate I had the pleasure of working with.

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