Richard McIntyre
Wild success
More than 30 years after starting his acclaimed winery on Victoria’s maritime Mornington Peninsula, Richard McIntyre is still marvelling at mysteries and keeping things wild.
As a young surgeon, Richard believed his job would have a shelf life, so he planned for a second career that he could transition to later in life. A wine lover his whole adult life, the solution was obvious. “I certainly didn’t want somebody tapping me on the shoulder and saying, "Sorry, old chap. You can't do it anymore,” he says. Fast forward to today and he’s at the helm of Moorooduc Estate, one of the best wineries in the region.
The art of authenticity
After three and a half years in Oxford, England, doing further training and some research, Richard and his wife Jill returned to Australia and searched for an ideal region to plant a vineyard. It was the early 1980s and wine growing in southern Victoria was on the verge of a renaissance.
Convinced that the Mornington Peninsula had great potential, Richard bought land and planted vines. From the early days at Moorooduc Estate, Richard opened the door to innovation and experimentation.
“Rather than just following instructions or traditions, I have asked some interesting questions and done some interesting trials,” he says. “That’s a legacy, I think, of having had a scientific education.”
One technique Richard has mastered is using wild yeasts to ferment wines. This involves relying on the yeasts that occur naturally – on the grapes, in the air – rather than adding cultured yeast, which Richard believes adds more complexity to his wines. He’s also a dedicated baker, using wild yeast in his daily loaves of sourdough, which he bakes en masse on weekends for sale in the cellar door.
“I could imagine if I was to have a religion, which I don’t, that I might want to worship yeast because I think it’s such a wonderful thing,” he says.
Wild yeast fermentation is part of Richard’s philosophy – shared by the entire team at Moorooduc Estate including his daughter and Master of Wine, Kate – that their wines should reflect the place they were grown.
“I’m not against other approaches; for example, great Champagne is usually blended from all sorts of different components,” says Richard. “But the wines that I find most interesting are wines that can speak of a particular vineyard. How they reflect the vineyard is mysterious. I think that’s good. It would be a pity if we knew all the answers to these things.”
“Rather than just following instructions or traditions, I have asked some interesting questions and done some interesting trials.” – Richard McIntyre
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