Maurice George O'Shea (13 June 1897 – 5 May 1956) was one of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's most respected winemakers, and is often referred to as the father of Australia's modern

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

. Maurice was the son of Irish born wine and spirit merchant John Augustus O'Shea (died 1912) and Leontine Frances, née Beaucher.

Life

Maurice completed his secondary schooling at Riverview College. He then studied winemaking at

Montpellier University The University of Montpellier () is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the world. The university was split into ...

and, in 1917, enrolled at the

Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon The Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (; INA P-G) was a French university-level institution of grande école A (; ) is a specialized top-level educational institution in France and some other countries such as Morocco and Tunisia. ...

where he studied

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

and

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

He returned to Australia in 1920. O'Shea married Marcia Singer Fuller on 2 December 1925 at St Peter's Anglican Church, Hamilton. 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. A biography of Maurice O'Shea was written in 2006 by wine writer

Campbell Mattinson Campbell Mattinson (born 1968) is an Australian novelist and wine critic. He is a former editor of Halliday Magazine and was the chief editor of Halliday Wine Companion for the 2024 and 2025 editions, before stepping down to concentrate on his ...

Winemaking

In 1925, Maurice began making wine on his family's vineyard, which he named Mount Pleasant, in Pokolbin in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. 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". McWilliams Mt. Pleasant 'Elizabeth' Semillon is still made. O'Shea most often made very small quantities of wine, often only one 2,275 litre cask.

Recognition

The Maurice O'Shea Award was inaugurated in 1990, and is awarded biyearly. Those honoured include

Max Schubert Max Schubert (9 February 1915 – 6 March 1994) was a pioneering Australian winemaker, with Penfolds, who is best known as the creator of Grange Hermitage.winepros.com.au. Schubert was included in the ''Sydney Morning Herald''s 100 most infl ...

in 1990, Wolf Blass in 2000 and

Ray Beckwith Arthur Ray Beckwith (23 February 1912 – 7 November 2012) was a South Australian wine chemist, whose methods enabled Penfolds' winemaker Max Schubert to produce excellent table wines, and develop his Penfolds Grange. For most of his long life h ...

in 2006.

References

External links

Maurice O'Shea - An Appraisal

Australian Dictionary of Biography, O'Shea, Maurice George
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, Maurice 1897 births 1956 deaths Australian winemakers People from the Hunter Region People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Burials at Gore Hill Cemetery