ALUMNI FOCUS
Alumni Profile – Peter Logan
From science lab to award-winning vineyard
Winemaker Peter Logan (BSc 1992) once dreamt of being a musician, but gave it all up to study science at Macquarie. Majoring in biology and chemistry, after graduation Peter went into the pharmaceutical world, working as a process chemist until he found his true calling in the vineyard.
“Studying at Macquarie taught me that the education gained can be applied in many different ways and a wide variety of fields,” Peter says. “I left Macquarie with a Bachelor of Science degree and have spent the last 21 years running a business as a winemaker and marketer.”
Peter and his wife and business partner Hannah are the proprietors behind the award-winning Logan Wines, where they create wines that combine Australian fresh fruit flavours with European structure and finesse.
When it came to choosing where to study, Peter says that his course’s practical focus was the deciding factor – and that the things he learned are still paying dividends today.
“I was interested in the practical approach taken by the faculty and the cross-section of environmental sciences I was able to study there – mixing land management with climatology and genetics, among others, gave me quite a holistic science degree in the days before the Environmental Science stream existed,” he says.
He says that his favourite Macquarie memory was of Peter Mitchell taking the land management course on a field trip to Mutawintji National Park in far western NSW.
“Discovering the serene beauty of the area and learning of the Local Aboriginal Land Councils’ struggle for management and ownership of the area was an eye-opening experience.”
And while for many running a vineyard in a picturesque setting is the embodiment of dream, Peter says that balancing the misty mornings on the vineyards are cold early starts, snakes, insects, drought, floods and occasionally lost vintages.
Despite the challenges that come in any business, Peter says that he has had many career highlights, including autographing a bottle of his sparkling wine for [British comedian] Ronny Corbett.
“Running a successful business in rural NSW, employing staff and giving them a career path, while contributing to the regional economy, has been another high point, as were the first time I saw a stranger enjoying a bottle of our wine at a restaurant; and having our Logan Sauvignon Blanc tabled in Parliament as part of an inquiry into the contents of Prime Minister Gillard’s cellar!”
“As I live and work in Mudgee (three-and-a-half hours west of Sydney) I haven’t stayed in close contact with Macquarie University itself but I have remained very close to a number of friends I made during my time studying there. Those friendships are a wonderful lasting benefit of my time at Macquarie and keep me connected to the uni.
“Julian Allport, one of my best mates from studying science is also a winemaker, and makes some of Tasmania’s best Riesling with a great brand he has called Moore’s Hill,” he says.
Just received my box of Logan great wines…read all tasting notes and am looking forward to drinking them.
All wines purchased from you Peter have been fabulous
Thank you
Rosalie