Penfolds winemaker given Australian science’s highest accolade

The Royal Institution of Australia awarded Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago a prestigious Bragg Membership for his contributions to the science of winemaking. 

Gago said he was “shocked, delighted and humbled​” to be made an Honorary Bragg Member, the highest category of membership the institution awards. 

The Bragg Membership is named after the South Australian scientists Sir William Henry Bragg and Sir William Lawrence Bragg, a father-and-son team who won the Nobel Prize in 1915 for establishing X-ray crystallography, a scientific technique still widely used today. 

“I am delighted as I am honoured to represent the pursuits of the many practitioners of the ancient discipline of oenology, humbled at joining eminent and world-renowned scientists and shocked to have been chosen on the right side of 60​,” Gago said. 

He joins just 31 other scientists as a member, and was inducted along with paleontologist Michael Archer, marine biologist Terry Hughes and biochemist Zee Upton. 

The Royal Institution of Australia chairman Peter Yates said celebrating the achievements of great scientists was an important part of Australia’s development as an innovative nation. 

“By acknowledging and honouring our industry leaders we hope to inspire the next generation of scientists and STEM graduates who will play a critical role in building Australia’s future​,” he said. 

Peter Gago has been the chief winemaker of Penfolds since 2002, only the fourth since Max Schubert was first appointed in 1948.