Maurice George O'Shea (13 June 1897 – 5 May 1956) was one of Australia's most respected winemakers, and is often referred to as the father of Australia's modern winemaking. Maurice was the son of Irish born wine and spirit merchant John Augustus O'Shea (d.1912) and Leontine Frances, née Beaucher.[1][2]
In 1932 O'Shea sold half of this business to McWilliam's Wines Pty Ltd. O'Shea stayed on as Manager and Director of the new subsidiary Mount Pleasant Wines Pty Ltd. In 1941 he sold the remaining half of the business and stayed on as manager and winemaker.
Maurice O'Shea named many of his wines after his friends, rather than the more orthodox method of naming them with a Bin Number of letter. The names included "Elizabeth", "Henry" and "George".[7] McWilliams Mt. Pleasant 'Elizabeth' Semillon is still made.[8]
O'Shea most often made very small quantities of wine, often only one 2,275 litre cask.[6]
Recognitionedit
The Maurice O'Shea Award was inaugurated in 1990, and is now awarded every second year. Those honoured include Max Schubert (1990), Wolf Blass (2000) and Ray Beckwith. (2006)
Referencesedit
^ abcDunstan, David. O'Shea, Maurice George (1897–1956). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
^'The Wines of Australia', Oliver Mayo, 1986, Faber & faber Ltd
^'Hunter Wine', Make Lake,1964, The Jacaranda Press Pty Ltd
^. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
^ abHalliday, James (2010). The Australian Wine Encyclopedia. Hardie Grant Books. p. 163. ISBN978-1-74066-774-6.
^'The Wines, Vineyards and Vignerons of Australia', Andre Simon, 1966, The Hamlyn Publishing Group, p116-117
^. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
External linksedit
Australian Dictionary of Biography, O'Shea, Maurice George
April 14, 2024
maurice, shea, winemaker, maurice, george, shea, june, 1897, 1956, australia, most, respected, winemakers, often, referred, father, australia, modern, winemaking, maurice, irish, born, wine, spirit, merchant, john, augustus, shea, 1912, leontine, frances, née,. Maurice George O Shea 13 June 1897 5 May 1956 was one of Australia s most respected winemakers and is often referred to as the father of Australia s modern winemaking Maurice was the son of Irish born wine and spirit merchant John Augustus O Shea d 1912 and Leontine Frances nee Beaucher 1 2 Contents 1 History 2 Winemaking 3 Recognition 4 References 5 External linksHistory editMaurice completed his secondary schooling at Riverview College 3 He then studied winemaking at Montpellier University and in 1917 enrolled at the Institut National Agronomique Paris Grignon where he studied viticulture and oenology 4 He returned to Australia in 1920 O Shea married Marcia Singer Fuller on 2 December 1925 at St Peter s Anglican Church Hamilton 1 Maurice O Shea died on 5 May 1956 of lung cancer even though he did not smoke He is buried at Gore Hill Cemetery Sydney 1 A biography of Maurice O Shea was written in 2006 by wine writer Campbell Mattinson 5 Winemaking edit nbsp An empty bottle of 1952 Hunter Valley Stephen Hermitage Shiraz made by Maurice O SheaIn 1925 Maurice began making wine on his family s vineyard 6 which he named Mount Pleasant in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales In 1932 O Shea sold half of this business to McWilliam s Wines Pty Ltd O Shea stayed on as Manager and Director of the new subsidiary Mount Pleasant Wines Pty Ltd In 1941 he sold the remaining half of the business and stayed on as manager and winemaker Maurice O Shea named many of his wines after his friends rather than the more orthodox method of naming them with a Bin Number of letter The names included Elizabeth Henry and George 7 McWilliams Mt Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon is still made 8 O Shea most often made very small quantities of wine often only one 2 275 litre cask 6 Recognition editThe Maurice O Shea Award was inaugurated in 1990 and is now awarded every second year Those honoured include Max Schubert 1990 Wolf Blass 2000 and Ray Beckwith 2006 References edit a b c Dunstan David O Shea Maurice George 1897 1956 Australian Dictionary of Biography Retrieved 31 August 2011 The Wines of Australia Oliver Mayo 1986 Faber amp faber Ltd Hunter Wine Make Lake 1964 The Jacaranda Press Pty Ltd Mount Pleasant Estate Maurice O Shea Archived from the original on 6 November 2011 Retrieved 26 August 2011 Wine Hunter The Man Who Changed Australian Wine 2006 ISBN 978 0 7336 2125 3 a b Halliday James 2010 The Australian Wine Encyclopedia Hardie Grant Books p 163 ISBN 978 1 74066 774 6 The Wines Vineyards and Vignerons of Australia Andre Simon 1966 The Hamlyn Publishing Group p116 117 Mount Pleasant Our Wines Name Series Archived from the original on 14 September 2011 Retrieved 26 August 2011 External links editMaurice O Shea An Appraisal Australian Dictionary of Biography O Shea Maurice George Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maurice O 27Shea winemaker amp oldid 1145159403, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
