Delivering A Good Drop

As Gerrie Lim finds out, PETER GAGO’s illustrious 30-year winemaking career has only got better with age

Peter Gago will be celebrating 30 years with​ Penfolds come November this year, a stint that started when he joined the Australian wine producer as a sparkling-wine maker in 1989. Its Chief Winemaker since 2002, Gago is renowned for his red wines – particularly the Penfolds Grange, the St Henri, the RWT series, and acclaimed bottlings such as Bin 369, Bin 707 and Bin 407 – and when I ask him in Bangkok, where he’s officiating at a launch ushering in the new Penfolds Collection, what that feels like, he replies with a joke that could only matter to him.

“If I can get to November, it won’t be 30 years at Penfolds. It’ll be 30 years without a sick day at Penfolds,” he says. “Not one in 30 years – imagine that! I’ve had colds and the flu – thankfully, I can isolate myself at work and not infect other people – but that’s the worst I’ve had, so I’ve been extraordinarily lucky! I don’t want to tempt the gods before the 30 years happen, but that’s how it is and I’m getting very excited – that’s an accomplishment!”