Johann Gramp

Johann Gramp
Born 28 August 1819
Eichigt, near Kulmbach, Bavaria
Died 9 August 1903
Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia
Occupation Winemaker, politician, citrus-grower
Religion Lutheran
Spouse(s) Eleonora (née Nitzschke)
Children 3 sons, 3 daughters

Johann Gramp (28 August 1819 – 9 August 1903) was a Bavarian-born Australian winemaker, local politician and citrus-grower. He is best known for founding Orlando Wines in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia.

Biography

Early life

Johann Gramp was born on 28 August 1819 in Eichigt near Kulmbach in Bavaria,[1][2][3] where his father was a landowner.[2] In 1837, he left Hamburg to migrate to Australia.[1] The journey took four months, sailing on the 'Solway' via Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope.[2][4] He arrived in Kingscote on Kangaroo Island on 16 October 1837.[1]

Career

From 1837 to 1839, he worked for the South Australian Company on Kangaroo Island.[1] From 1839 to 1840, he worked for the same company, but in Port Adelaide, a suburb of Adelaide.[1] Shortly after, he worked in a bakery in Adelaide.[1][2]

He started a new life as a farmer in Yatala.[2] In 1847, he moved to the Barossa Valley in rural South Australia and settled near Jacob's Creek.[1][2][3] That same year, he planted his first vine there.[2][3][4][5] Three years later, in 1850, he produced an octave of wine,[1] a hock later known as Carte Blanche.[1] Later, he purchased more land to expand his vineyard and added a cellar to his estate.[1]

After ten years of living in the Barossa Valley, he was elected to serve on the Barossa East District Council in the 1860s, eventually serving as its Chairman.[1] While serving on the council, he was a proponent of building a state school in Rowland Flat for local children.[1] He became a naturalized Australian citizen in 1872.[1]

Later he grew citrus fruits in the Barossa Valley.[1]

Personal life

He married Eleonora (Nitzschke) Gramp.[1] They had three sons and three daughters.[1] He was Lutheran.[1]

Death and legacy

He died on 9 August 1903 at his estate in the Barossa Valley.[1] His son Gustav Gramp took over the vineyard, until it was inherited by his grandson, Hugo Gramp.[2] It stayed in the Gramp family until the 1970s, when it was purchased by Reckitt and Colman, and eventually by Pernod Ricard.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 'Gramp, Johann (1819–1903)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gramp-johann-3651/text5669, published in hardcopy 1972, accessed online 8 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tate Adams, The First Vines, Macmillan Education AU, 2006, p. 28
  3. 1 2 3 Nicholas Faith, Australia's Liquid Gold, London: Hachette, 2003, p. 1920
  4. 1 2 Jacob's Creek: History
  5. ↑ Alan Hickey, Keith Conlon and Ron Kandelaars, Postcards: Day Trips from Adelaide, Wakefield Press, 2003, p. 35
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