Trevor Drayton dies

Just read a story about the death of a leading Australian winemaker, Trevor Drayton, who died in an explosion at his Hunter Valley winery.

I must confess I am not familiar with him or his wines.

Its a very sad event. It looks as though the second person killed may be a grapegrower cousin of Drayton (but name has not been released), and the 27 year old assistant winemaker William Rikard-Bell is in critical condition after severe burns to 80 percent of his body. Apparently he had the presence of mind to run 100 yards to a small dam and immerse himself in the water. LINK

Trevor Drayton was wine maker in the family owned winery that started in 1853. WINERY LINK. The family has had a history of tragedy. Half the family was lost to typhus during the trip to Australia in the 1850s. In 1995 his uncle, the retired winemaker Reg Drayton and his wife Pam, died in a plane crash on their way from Williamtown to Lord Howe Island. Their bodies were never recovered. Seven years earlier winemaker Barry Drayton was suffocated by fumes when cleaning out a wine tank. And Barry Drayton’s wife Rhonda unexpectedly died shortly before from hepatitis and their deaths orphaned four young daughters.

I've never seen any of their wines in the US, although the little blurb that Halliday gives them says they do export to the US. But being Hunter Valley wines its unlikely that Parker or WS would rate them highly; even James Halliday has not rated them all that highly. They do produce 90,000 cases of fairly typical Hunter wines. I remember drinking Drayton wines back in the "70s, but that would have been before Trevor Drayton was even through wine school.

Mike

Thanks for the background Mike. That family certainly has had its share of misfortune.

An Audio Slideshow has been released by the Sydney Morning Herald with images of the damage and commentary.

Mike