Lisa McGuigan, Rock ‘n Roll Wines

The beautiful dining room at The Gaucho Club, London

Since I don’t foresee a trip to the land down under anytime soon, I thought I’d satisfy my interest in the country by getting to know Lisa McGuigan at a special launch event of her wines in London.  Lisa McGuigam is one of Australian’s premier winemakers, on the evening I learnt about how she came to develop such a strong business for herself. This amazing woman has used her industry knowledge and passion to grow her successful Australian company and has recently begun a UK market launch with her brand.

Lisa is practically a wine royalty back home, being the fourth generation member of one of Hunter Valley’s famous winemaking families, the McGuigan wines. For years, she worked as a chef in hotels and restaurants all across Australia until leaving the culinary world behind for the family business.
In 1996, she returned to Hunter Valley and used her hospitality skills and wine appreciation to work on a completely new cellar idea. With some support from her family’s company, McGuigan Wines, Lisa was able to introduce a new niche to the wine market that had never been suggested before – the harmony of wine and style. In turn, she was invited to collaborate with winemakers who hoped to utilize her designs at an industry event. Prior to Lisa, no one had thought to suggest such an idea.With the tremendous success Lisa achieved from her first concept, she was inspired to keep going. This new concept of incorporating style with wine was a true industry innovation, and Lisa believed that she could use the idea to create a brand that could attract people who didn’t even care for wine. With conviction, she took the risk and rented a small corner of her familial winery a year later to make her own wine. It was called Hermitage Road, named after the street that lies alongside her family’s vineyards.

As she gained a bit more success with Hermitage Road, she relocated to Sydney to grow the brand itself. Unfortunately, at this point, “Hermitage” became a patented title that Lisa was no longer allowed to use. So, she renamed the label as “Tempus Two.” Not only was the change necessary, but it helped Lisa appeal to the masses much more than she could have with her original label. The modern and attractive title appealed to European, U.S., UK, and Canadian markets.

Tempus Two was a huge hit all over the world, and as the brand grew, so did Lisa’s ambitions. In 2003, she built a cutting edge winery that was big enough to hold concerts and events. Lisa’s past experiences were apparently not forgotten, as she still firmly believed that food, wine, and entertainment could all mingle together quite amazingly.

Ten years later, Lisa purchased two retail stores in Sydney after she had felt the popularity of Tempus Two had grown so exponentially that she lost that personal touch she once prided herself on. Thus, Lisa’s Wine Vaults were born. By 2011, she created her Lisa McGuigan Wines label, with which she took a smaller and personal approach. By using modern techniques with some grape varieties from various regions, Lisa has been able to make wines that reflect her passions.

Today, Lisa’s wines can be found in the UK as either the Wilde Thing or Silver collections. While both are offered in red or white, Wilde Thing consists of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio blend, as well as a Cabernet Shiraz. On the other hand, Silver is either a Chardonnay or Shiraz.

All of Lisa’s signature wines originate from South Australia, as Aussie wine is what she knows best. She also makes sure that the wines look just as good as they taste, adding that bit of stylish flash that she’s kept up since 1996. After all these years, Lisa has stayed true to her original focus – fusing delicious wine with equally mouth-watering designs.