Murdock Wines is a family affair with Bette & Jim Murdock (Founders) living and working on the Coonawarra property. Their son David (Managing Director) looks after the business as a whole, with his wife Kathryn (GM - Marketing) in charge of all marketing operations. Gill & Colin Jenkins, daughter and son-in-law are also directors of Murdock Wines.
About Us
The Team
Bette and Jim Murdock - Founders
Bette & Jim are the founders of Murdock Wines, and although they entered the Penola/Coonawarra district as broad acre farmers, they have always maintained a close relationship with Coonawarra, its winemakers and wines.
In 1993, after a long wait, an opportunity to purchase 40 acres of the original Coonawarra sub-division came up. The family quickly purchased this unique vineyard, and thus realised a life- long ambition to be part of the wine industry.
Jim’s farming/horticulture background combined with Bette’s proficiency in the office and the warm and friendly natures of both have become the backbone of Murdock Wines.
In the beginning, considerable work had to be done to the run-down vineyard to ensure that only premium quality fruit was produced. This took time and, until we were ready to produce under the Murdock label, the fruit was on-sold to other producers of fine Coonawarra wines.
Once the family was confident that the vineyard producing some of the best fruit within the Coonawarra, and the vineyard had demonstrated a high degree of consistency, we decided it was time to produce the inaugural Murdock Wines release – the 1998 Murdock Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.
David Murdock - Managing Director, Executive Winemaker & Viticulturist
David started his career at Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate as a Viticulturist working closely with the winemaking team to assist in the production of ultra premium wines for the world market. David’s philosophy - ‘great wines are made in the vineyard’ - is the driving force behind the perfection he seeks within his vineyards. This absolute dedication to quality continues to result in the production of wines with exceptional power and length.
Prior to leaving Southcorp Wines, David’s skill and exceptional performance earned him the position of General Manager, Vineyard Operations. As part of this role, David was responsible for producing the fruit behind such labels as Penfolds (including Grange & Yattarna) as well as Lindemans and Rosemount.
He previously was responsible for the production of wines from various wineries within Southcorp including Tulloch (Hunter Valley, NSW), Coldstream Hills (Yarra Valley, Vic), Wynn’s & Rouge Homme (Coonawarra, SA) & Devil’s Lair (Margaret River, WA).
David was also responsible for Southcorp’s vineyards in Paso Robles (California, USA) and Narbonne (Langeudoc-Roussillon, France) and he continues to regularly visit the premium grapegrowing regions throughout the world.
With David’s diverse background within the industry and his absolute commitment to the production of the finest wines, it is no wonder that his own label, Murdock Wines, is now recognized as one of the best in Australia. Producing wines of incredible elegance and true varietal character, the Murdock label has been described as “one with a bullet” and the wines “very highly sought after”. His signature wine, the Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, has been widely praised as being one of the best by style since its inception.
Kathryn Murray - General Manager / Marketing
Kathryn holds undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in Behavioural Science and Cognitive Psychology from Queens University in Canada, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne’s Business School. Kathryn’s work in the areas of value segmentation, customer satisfaction and strategic marketing has been widely published. Most recently, Kathryn lectures part-time in the Diploma of Wine and Food program at the Murray Institute of TAFE in South Australia.
Before relocating to South Australia in 2003 and joining the Murdock Wines team, Kathryn held a variety of senior positions with global consulting firms managing practices specialising in Marketing Strategy and Customer Management Solutions. Most recently, Kathryn was a Partner with PA Consulting Group, where she led the Capturing Customer Value and Systems Integrations practices. Prior to joining PA, Kathryn was Director of Marketing, Asia Pacific, for KPMG Consulting and National Practice Leader for KPMG’s Customer Management Practice.
Kathryn now divides her time between Murdock wines, her own marketing consulting practice, and the two latest additions to the Murdock team – son Lachlan and daughter Gemma.
Peter Bissell - Contract Winemaker
All Murdock wines are made at Balnaves, a boutique winery in the heart of the Coonawarra under the watchful eye of Peter Bissell, Murdock Wines’ contract winemaker.
Peter’s winemaking career commenced in New Zealand where he completed his BSc honours thesis, looking at colour extraction in Pinot Noir in the cool region of Canterbury. He then spent time in France working for A Moueix et Fils in Lisbourne before completing his post-graduate Degree in winemaking at Roseworthy. He was subsequently appointed as Winemaker at Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate.
In 1995 Peter joined Balnaves and has been instrumental developing that brand into one of consistency and quality.