Fairfield's Finest Drop

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Exhibition SummaryFairfield's Finest Drop (on display 29 February - 7 November 2020) focuses on a unique period in Fairfield’s past when European winemakers established vineyards in the area, producing some of Sydney’s first and finest wines.DescriptionFairfield City is shaped by its waterways, with creeks running along the borders and all throughout the district. Early settlements and estates followed the bends and curves of the creeks and local industries relied on their steady flow of water. Fertile soils, created by regular floods, allowed market gardens, orchards and vineyards to flourish.

From around 1850 to 1950, viticulture (or wine growing) was a prominent industry in the region. Country estates on the first land grants established vineyards for wine production, ‘hand-picking’ German vine-dressers to plant, prune and cultivate their vines. Large commercial vineyards were operated by British settlers calling themselves vignerons or vintners.

Migrants from Southern and Eastern Europe were drawn to Australia by the prospects of gold mining, land ownership and farming opportunities. Many eventually settled in the Fairfield area and continued their family traditions of wine-growing, using handmade tools and techniques passed on through generations.

Wine was seen as a cultured drink compared to beer and rum, which were plentiful in the early days of the Colony. James Busby, now known as the ‘Father of the Australian wine industry’, wrote in 1830:

‘Anyone who, having them both at his command, should prefer beer (...) would, in my opinion, resemble a person who should eat the rind, and throw away the fruit. It is not a matter of taste only, however. Beer, in a hot climate (...) is always a heavy and stupefying drink, unlike wine, which (...) is a light and exhilarating beverage, calculated to cheer the heart, and to elevate the spirits, without confusing the understanding.’

Throughout the decades Fairfield’s vineyards withstood floods, drought and fire, as well as several outbreaks of phylloxera, a mite that destroys the roots and leaves of grape vines. However, it was the increased urbanisation through subdivisions and the sale of farmland that eventually led to the disappearance of viticulture as an industry.

Today, if you look carefully as you travel the suburban streets of Fairfield, you can still find evidence of backyard winemakers. Modest rows of grapevines are tended with the knowledge and skill of generations and their grapes continue to be harvested, pressed and bottled to be enjoyed with family and friends.

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