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Wine industry pays tribute to inventor Kellie Arbuckle
The Ron Potter Research Centre
TRIBUTES HAVE POURED in for Ron Potter, a towering figure in the Australian wine industry, who passed away last month, aged 83. Potter, who received an OAM in 2006, died peacefully at Griffith Base Hospital on Wednesday, 19 September after a short battle with illness. As the founder of A&G Industries, Potter is credited with inventing the Potter drainer and fermenter, which revolutionised wine fermentation techniques in the 1970s.
“As an industry person, I’ve known Ron for a long, long time,” Lee said. “He was a very nice guy. He was very good to talk to and very interested in what was going on.” This kindness was reflected in Potter’s contribution to CSU, where he donated a lot of his spare time and equipment to setting up the winemaking course for future winemakers. “It doesn’t matter where you go, you will always find the influence of people who have either been educated at Roseworthy (in Adelaide) or the Ron Potter Centre. “Ron Potter has had an enormous contribution – not only to the Australian wine industry, but the world’s wine industry, too.”
The Potter Fermenter In 1972, Potter patented a winemaking tank which became known as the Potter drainer and fermenter. The design dated from as early as 1962 and was initially installed by Wynn Winegrowers at Yenda, NSW, in 1969. Dr Terry Lee, editor of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, says the Potter Fermenter revolutionised fermentation techniques in the global wine industry. “Ron will mostly be remembered for his contribution to winemaking innovation,” said Dr Lee, who knew Potter for the past 25 years. “All operations that were required by hand labour were suddenly done by gravity, thanks to Potter’s invention. It made the separation of juice or fermented wine away from skins and seeds so much easier. One guy could run one of these fermenters.” Made from stainless steel, Potter’s fermentation tanks could take up to 30 tonnes of fruit, according to Dr Lee, who first spotted the tank at a winery in California in 1975. He says Potter will also be remembered for his contribution to education, particularly at Charles Sturt University, at Wagga Wagga.
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Potter’s son Chris said despite his father’s stunning success in business, it was his passion for his family and the outback that defined him most. “He wasn’t an empire builder, his success was more about supporting his family and his employees, who were like an extended family,” he said. “He had a great love of farming – especially horses and cattle – and he loved following the explorers’ footprints. “He tried to find the dead centre of Australia a number of times and once went on an expedition to find the end of the Lachlan River.” Born in Young, but spending his formative years in Queensland, Potter came to Griffith in 1952 to take up a role as a viticulturist with the then NSW Department of Agriculture. Two years later, he joined Miranda’s as a winemaker and after a decade at the fledgling company, started his own business – A&G Engineering. McWilliam’s Wines chairman Doug McWilliam said Mr Potter was a goliath of the industry, a humble businessman whose word was his bond. “He was nothing short of a wine engineering guru and a real innovator,” McWilliam said. “He was a man of his word – when you did business with him, you didn’t need lawyers, you just needed a handshake.” He is survived by wife Fran, children Wendy, Chris, Julie and Jenny, their respective partners Kerry, Julie, David and Murray, his 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. October 2012 – Issue 585