Phil Laffer honoured for services to Australian wine

Former Jacob’s Creek winemaker Philip Laffer has been awarded an Order of Australia medal for services to the Australian wine industry.

Phil Laffer (left) with current Jacob’s Creek chief winemaker Bernard Hicken

The Commonwealth of Australia’s Governor General, Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC CVO, bestowed the award of a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on Philip for “significant service to the Australian Wine industry as a winemaker and to trade, marketing and research and development programs.”

Many of these services were made during Philip’s 20 year tenure at Jacob’s Creek, from 1990 to 2010.

“Over Philip Laffer’s 20 years at Jacob’s Creek, he worked tirelessly to make high quality approachable wines, while also travelling the world to speak to everyone he could about the virtues of Australian wine,” commented Bernard Hickin, who succeeded Philip as Jacob’s Creek chief winemaker.

“He has dedicated much of his life to promoting and educating people about Australian wine, together with a lot of behind-the-scenes work on quality and innovation,” he added.