|
In
1894, Cyril Pridmore arrived from England to assist older
brother Horace in the running of the vineyards and the recently
established small cellars -"The Wattles". In 1896, after a
decade of encouraging growers in planting more vines, Thomas
Hardy and the growers faced a bumper year and called on the
Pridmore brothers to assist in the handling of excess grapes in
a larger and hastily constructed winery. After this Cyril
continued managing up to 30 acres of vineyard and also undertook
the construction of the 70x36 feet storage cellars that
incorporated quite impressive concrete storage tanks that could
handle up to 130,000 gallons of wine. This storage cellar also
named "The Wattles" was built on the grounds of Sylvan Park and
was completed in the same year as the purchase of the home of
the same name, in 1901.
More responsibility fell on Cyril’s shoulders at the premature
death of Horace in 1907. From this time onwards, Cyril continued
to produce wine and supply grapes until he sold his winery to
Penfolds Wines in 1910. The Sylvan Park homestead was however
kept and used by Cyril between trips to England until his death
in 1925, when the grand Estate was passed down to Cyril's sons,
Hugh and Roy.
Upon coming of age, Hugh's son Digby took over the family
business. With a passion and flair for viticulture, Digby raised
his two children at the Sylvan park homestead, before purchasing
a new property and continuing the grape growing enterprise in
the Blewitt Springs area.
From 1892 to today, the family's dedication and passion for the
wine industry has remained uninterrupted and as strong as ever.
Sylvan Springs is now owned and operated by Digby's son, David,
who lives on the property with his wife Robyn, and two children
Sam and Anthea. |
