# Brian Croser

Brian John Croser AO (born March 1948) is an Australian winemaker and viticulturist.

## Early life and education

Croser was born in Millicent, South Australia, in March 1948, and grew up on a sheep farm in the Clare Valley from age six, near vineyards. Both of his parents had long backgrounds in farming and were Methodist and Protestants. He boarded at Scotch College. The headmaster there, Charles Fisher, influenced Croser to go into winemaking.
Croser graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from the University of Adelaide in 1969. He began working for Thomas Hardy and Sons in 1969 to gain a sponsor for overseas study, and worked for two and a half years in quality control and research and development. He then undertook postgraduate studies in oenology at the Davis campus of the University of California in the 1970s for fifteen months. He found the experience disappointing and felt pressure to return because of problems at Hardy and Sons. He claims he never submitted his thesis. On the Davis campus, he discovered chardonnay, and was mentored by academics such as Harold Olmo and Maynard Amerine.

## Career

Back from the United States, Croser returned to work for Thomas Hardy and Sons, making head winemaker in 1975. Croser then went to work at the Riverina College of Advanced Education in December 1975, now part of Charles Sturt University, and with Tony Jordan started the wine science program. To add a practical component to the degree, in 1977 the wine science department convinced the university to build a winery in an old olive oil press. The first vintage was in that year, and it won awards. The wine science program was influential on the modern Australian wine industry.
While working at the Riverina College in 1976, Croser started the Petaluma winery, naming it after Petaluma, California. To do so, he planted grapes in the regions that best suited them: Riesling in Clare and Cabernet Sauvignon in Wrattonbully, among others. He was one of the first in Australia to do this. Champagnes made at this time at Petaluma were some of the first produced in Australia. In 1978, Croser and his wife Ann bought a market garden in the Piccadilly Valley in South Australia, chosen for its cool weather to best grow chardonnay. They planted the Tiers vineyard the following year, and started producing chardonnay from the grapes under the Petaluma name. Petaluma was opened in 1979, and the inaugural 1979 Petaluma Riesling quickly popularized Rieslings with more lifted aromatics in Australia. These Rieslings were noted for their low prices and high quality.
As part of his contract with Riverina College, Croser was allowed to consult wineries. After being pushed into a management role in Riverina College, in August 1978 Croser quit to work full time on the consultancies and Petaluma. An entity for consulting called Oenotec was formed in 1978, and he was soon joined by Jordan. They were extremely influential on Australian wine, and caught planes from harvest-to-harvest, providing hands-on advice. With many clients by the mid-1980s, they were constrained by time, and gave a lot of advice over the phone, as well as sending oenology graduates as full-time winemakers. Their advice focused on promoting anaerobic and hygienic wine production. Oenotec was acclaimed for improving the quality of Australian wine, but also criticised for perceived arrogance, speculated profiteering and for making the taste of wine less varied and sophisticated. Croser disputed these critiques. Following Oenotec, other wine consultancy firms were started. By 1984, they were retained by thirty firms, and Jordan left to start Domaine Chandon Australia.
In 1986, Croser founded the Dundee Wine Company,
When Petaluma was subject to a hostile takeover it was made apparent that the Tiers vineyard, his home and driveway were under a separate lease. As of 2023, it produces chardonnay under the Tapanappa label. Croser was an early proponent of chardonnay in Australia, which late became popular. He has been criticised for being slow to adopt practices such as barrel fermentation for chardonnay. He has endeavored to express the fruit flavour in the wine. Climate change poses a threat to ideal growing conditions for Tiers.
In 1986, Croser founded the Dundee Wine Company, known as the Argyle winery, in Oregon, US.
Croser worked as the deputy chancellor of the University of Adelaide from 1999 to 2007.
In 2001, Lion Nathan undertook a hostile takeover of the Petaluma winery, which Croser notes significantly affected him. After some time Lion Nathan returned some autonomy to Petaluma, although Croser moved his attention to other projects. As of 2005 the winery was very respected. While working at Petaluma, Croser acted as a professional mentor. In 2014, the Croser family regained control of Petaluma.
In 2002, the Croser family, the Cazes family and Bollinger purchased the small Koppamurra vineyard in Wrattonbully. This was among the oldest vineyards in Wrattonbully, planted in 1975. Bollinger had previously been an early investor in Petaluma. It was renamed the Whalebone vineyard, and the winery was called Tapanappa, after an Aboriginal word for "stick to the path." In 2013 Etienne Bizot of the Bollinger family joined the board of Tapanappa. Croser's daughter Lucy and husband Xavier Bizot, son of Christian Bizot run the business, along with his other son-in-law.
Around 2003, Croser started the Foggy Hill vineyard on the Fleurieu Peninsula, which grows pinot noir. This was an experiment on densely planted low-trellised vines in a cool environment, new to winemaking. Difficulties have come from tannins in the terroir. A separate bottling called "Definitus" since 2017 comes from a part of the vineyard with more intense flavours.
Croser was influential as president of the Winemaker's Federation of Australia between 1991–1993 and 1997–1999. This organisation, through merger, is as of 2018 Australian Grape and Wine Incorporated. He helped create the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology. He was president of the Australian Winemakers Forum, which he formed in 1984.

## Personal life

As of 2021, Croser lived at the Tiers Vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley. He has been married to his wife Ann since at least the mid-1970s, and has at least two daughters, the second born in 1977.
Within the wine world, as of 2020 Croser most admired Jean-Michel Cazes. He is interested in football and reading.

## Views on wine

Croser is a critic of the domination of Coles and Woolworths in the Australian liquor market.

## Accolades

Brian has been the recipient of several accolades, including:
* 1994: Chief Executive of the Year in South Australia from the Australian Financial Review
* 1997: Maurice O'Shea Award
* 1998: Doctor of Science (honoris causa) from Charles Sturt University. In awarding, they assert he was the most influential individual on the Australian wine industry over the previous decade.
* 2000: Officer of the Order of Australia
* 2004: Decanter Man of the Year
* 2007: Doctor of the University (honoris causa) from the University of Adelaide
* 2016: Viticulturist of the Year from Gourmet Traveller Wine
* 2021: 2021 South Australian Legend of the Vine from Wine Communicators Australia
* 2021: Distinguished Alumni Award from University of Adelaide