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Jane and Peter Thompson purchased the Thompson
Estate property in 1994, and the first plantings
of chardonnay and pinot were in 1997, followed
by the cabernet plantings in 1998.
Peter is a Perth based heart specialist who
sees no conflict between being a wine producer
and his medical specialty. In fact, the heart
health benefits of wine are widely accepted
and there is a long tradition of medical involvement
in wine making.
Many of the pioneers of the Australian wine
industry were doctors and the first vineyard
in Margaret River was planted by heart specialist
Dr Tom Cullity. The medical wine connection
in Margaret River is particularly strong.
Moss Wood vineyard was planted by Peter’s
longtime friend and medical school colleague,
Dr Bill Pannell.
Peter worked on the first of the Busselton
Health surveys founded by Dr Kevin Cullen,
the founder of the Cullen vineyard. For the
past 15 years Peter and Jane have been partners
in the Pierro and Fire Gully vineyards run
by Dr Mike Peterkin.
Jane gave up a busy career in administrative
law to run Thompson Estate, having previously
worked as a solicitor for the Western Australian
Law Society, the Legal Practice Board, the
Disciplinary Tribunal and the Parole Board.
She has taken on the challenging task of
developing Thompson Estate’s export
market, a job which frequently takes her away
from their three children James, Alexandrea,
Angus and the vineyard labrador, Giorgio.
Thompson Estate remains a family owned and
operated vineyard.
Download
an " Introduction to Thompson Estate" |
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Statistics
Established 1997
First vintage 2001
Area under Vine
Current plantings 28 acres close planted
vineyard
(1 metre inter-vine, 2.5 metres inter-row)
Further plantings 2005 and 2006
Production in cases
Current 5000
Future 6000-7000
Export approx 40% (currently exporting to
Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Bahamas)
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