Max Emory Lake, OAM (24 July 1924 – 14 April 2009) was an Australian winemaker and surgeon, who is generally regarded as the "father of the Australian boutique wine industry".Newton, John (2009) "A knowing nose and father of boutique wine"
''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', 17 April 2009

Early life and education

Lake was born in 1924 in Albany, in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in the United States, where his parents, David and Hannah, worked in the film industry. He had a sister and three brothers. His family moved to Sydney where his father ran the Australian division of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. Lake went to Bellevue Hill Public School and then

Sydney Boys' High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a sub ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where he met another medical student, Joy Townsend, his future wife.

Career

Surgical career

Following graduation from the University of Sydney, Lake studied surgery at the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

in England in the early 1950s and went on to become the first Australian surgeon to specialise in

hand surgery Hand surgery deals with both surgical and non-surgical treatment of conditions and problems that may take place in the hand or upper extremity (commonly from the tip of the hand to the shoulder), American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Retriev ...

.Australian Biography: Max Lake

Film Australia Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia in 1973. Its predecessors were the Cinema and Photographic Branch (1913–38), the Australian National Film Board (1939–1955, under differ ...

, 2005. He gave up his work as a surgeon in 1979 to concentrate on his interest in wine and food.

Winemaking career

In 1963, Lake founded Lake's Folly, a winery in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

considered to be Australia's first boutique winery and a major influence on the Australian wine industry. In 1988, '' The Bulletin'' magazine called Lake "the man who started the (Australian) wine boom".Mattinson, Campbell
Industry legend Max Lake dies
''Wine Front'', 15 April 2009. His wife and son, Stephen, were active in the winery. Stephen said that "Dad was the boss, Mum the brains and I was the brawn". In addition to making wine, Lake wrote widely on wine and food. In 1966, he published the landmark book ''Classic Wines of Australia'', followed by several other books about wine including ''Hunter Wine'', ''Scents and Sensuality'' and ''Food on the Plate, Wine in the Glass''. Many of these books relate to his third career as a "flavourolgist", his description of his "attempt to understand how taste, smell and flavour shaped humanity". Flavour and pleasure were two guiding principles in his life.

Death

Lake died on 14 April 2009, aged 84, at his home in Longueville on Sydney's

Lower North Shore In Australia, Lower North Shore refers to the affluent northern suburbs of Sydney adjoining Sydney Harbour. The three bodies of water that surround the Lower North Shore are Lane Cove River on its western border, Sydney Harbour on its south side, ...

, after sustaining a head injury from a

fall Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...

Personal life

Lake married fellow medical student Joy Townsend in 1948. Max and Joy had twins, David and Paula, who were born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in 1950, and Stephen, born in Sydney in 1955.

Honours

In the 2002 Australia Day Honours, Lake was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

for service to the establishment of the boutique wine industry in Australia as a winemaker, judge, promoter and author.LAKE, Max Emory
''It's an Honour'' (Australian Government), 26 January 2002.

References

External links

Lake Enterprises official websiteLake's Folly Vineyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Max 1924 births 2009 deaths Accidental deaths from falls American emigrants to Australia Australian orthopaedic surgeons Australian wine critics Australian winemakers Businesspeople from Albany, New York Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sydney Medical School alumni 20th-century Australian surgeons 20th-century American businesspeople People educated at Sydney Boys High School