Among
the many personalities that have shape the Australian wine industry over
the past 150 years one name stands pre-eminent – Leo Buring. Hermann
Paul Leopold Buring was born in South Australia on the 7th October 1876,
the son of German immigrants. He was a highly skilled winemaker and is
often described as "Australia's Ambassador for Wine" because he
was one of the first to export Australian wine to many countries as far
back as the early 1900’s.
In 1896, Leo was Dux of the Oenology course at Roseworthy Agricultural
College. He then gained practical experience in Europe before settling
back in Australia at Minchinbury in 1902. Four years later, his wines
earned 6 gold medals at The Brewers and Wine Exhibition in London.
Leo Buring finally achieved his dream at the age of 68 when he bought the
Orange Grove Winery at Tanunda, in the Barossa Valley, which he re-named,
"Chateau Leonay".
Over the years, Leo Buring has established a reputation as Australia's
foremost maker of Riesling – the flagship being Leo Buring Leonay. They
combine intense fruit flavours with great elegance. The wines age
gracefully and acquire a great depth of toasty flavour while still
retaining great freshness, and avoiding the kerosene -like character that
hampers other aged Rieslings.
Acclaimed wine critic and judge, James Halliday, once described Leo Buring
as, "the greatest maker of Rhine Riesling in Australia" and
“Australia’s foremost producer of Rieslings over a 30-year period.”
Leo's influence in introducing Australia to table wine has been far
reaching. His influence on the industry, ranging from technical advice to
government reports, resulted in many improvements. The wine industry and
wine lovers alike owe a great debt to Leo Buring, Australia's Ambassador
for Wine.
