Generations in Wine

Ron and his three  brothers all worked in the business. “That was the  best part about it,” he says fondly.

It was Darkie who coined the name “Rovalley Wines” and a golden era followed. Business was booming and because Ron was the only winemaker, he was busy.

“The most we crushed was 3,000 tonnes. We were doing all bulk fortifields and bulk table wines too. We were putting some in flagons, then some in bottles, premium reds and whites. I don’t know how I did it because I did all the lab work too. That’s probably why I’m frazzled!” he laughs.

“Darkie got Wolf Blass in to advise on starting sparkling wine… Rovalley Sparkling Charmane became huge! We did a Spumante, Brut, a pink and red sparkling Charmane.

“We were right up there with the biggest and the best.”

Ron found himself making a wide variety of wines and he enjoyed the challenges and discoveries made along the way.

“I made the first Rosé at Rovalley too. But the big thing was Cobweb Port – that was my baby,” he says with pride.

“We just had a unique mix of barrels down there, quite large, not just small barrels. They had this old developed rancio character in them from the 1920s and 30s all the way through. We had that base wine to work on and it was a special, unique blend that I think no one else was doing.”

There’s a tinge of sadness as Ron describes the demise of Rovalley, despite he and his brothers’ best efforts in keeping the generational wine business going.

Rovalley Wines closed in 1985. However, with its sale came the opportunity for Ron and Janet to buy back the family’s Steingarten Road property which they’ve called home ever since.

Taking a job working at the tank farm for Vinpac created a period Ron likes to call “the missing seven years” in his winemaking career.

“I was responsible for unloading all the wine that came in and I saw all the different labels going down the line and got a few ideas,” he says.

Those ideas grew and in 1992, Liebichwein began after Ron, who never stopped dabbling in winemaking, and his late brother, Garnet bought in some Grenache to make a tawny style port which was stored in barrels at their other brother, Trevor’s place.

“From there, a producer’s licence was granted, we started selling off bulk port and the winery started.”

For someone who says he’s a “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of winemaker, there is no doubt Ron knows exactly what he’s doing.

His descriptions of the flavours that develop the longer fruit is left on the vine, and those achieved each year in historic barrels are so detailed, you can almost taste the final product before a bottle is even opened.

“The key is picking at the right time,” Ron says.

He compares cork to screwcaps and how they impact a wine’s longevity; has a detailed knowledge of how fruit from bush vines differ from those grown on trellis and says his aim as a winemaker is for each grape variety to “speak for itself”.

At 76 years of age, he’s obviously been listening intently and the wide range of fine wines featured in the Liebichwein Cellar Door surely talk volumes.

So when Ron says, “This vintage is the best year I’ve had since ’96,” it’s wise to pay attention.

“It’s been more of what I’d call a ‘normal’ year, no extreme heat. I think we only had four days nudging 40.”