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Mary Penfold

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Mary Penfold

By: Grantlee Kieza
Narrated by: Elizabeth Parisi
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Mary Penfold packed up her baby daughter in England in 1844 to follow her husband Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold as he chased his dream of starting a new life in the infant colony of South Australia. The family settled on a farm beneath the Adelaide Hills, and, while Christopher made his rounds visiting patients, Mary and her maid, Ellen Timbrell, tended the grapevines that the Penfolds had sourced from the south of France and planted beside their stone cottage, The Grange.

At a time when women were often excluded from commerce, Mary transformed her cottage industry into a thriving business empire. She expanded her vineyard, developed new styles of her product and built a flourishing company that supplied not only Australia’s demand for high-quality wine, but thirsty export markets as well. Wine had been part of the Australian landscape since the First Fleet, and 'The Commander in Chief', as Mary was affectionately known, helped make the Australian wine industry the envy of the world. Her brilliance as a vintner and great business mind lives on today, with Penfolds Grange being one of the most sought-after vintages in the world.

©2025 Grantlee Kieza. Grantlee Kieza asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this Work (P)2025 Bolinda Publishing. This audio version produced by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited. Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Business Food & Wine Historical Professionals & Academics Wine & Beverages Women England
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Critic Reviews

'Inspiring ... A pioneer who proved that women could lead in industry at a time when they were rarely acknowledged.' (Books+Publishing)
'Kieza is a prolific and successful biographer ... He has a fluid writing style in which he wears his research lightly, yet it is thoroughly annotated.' (on Banks) (Spectator Australia)
'[Grantlee Kieza] writes with the immediacy of a fine documentary … bringing historic personalities to life.' (on Sons of the Southern Cross) (Ballarat Courier)
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I enjoyed the history of Australia from a free settler, well read. great story about a woman pioneer.

Good look into early Australia

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This was a very interesting story about the history of Australian wine and a remarkable woman at the centre of it

Great story - well read

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This is the story of Mary Penfold who pioneered growing of grapes in Australia . The reader has a good voice and it is an interesting history.

A great listen to an interesting part of history

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A grabbag of historical anecdotes masquerading as a story. This tale needed more substance and more information about the protagonist.

It was about the men in the Penfold dynasty

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.