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 History

 
 

Paul Osicka Snr, a Czech Vigneron, emigrated to Australia after the Second World War with his wife Rosalie and young family. Paul had a tradition in his family of wine grape growing and winemaking that can be traced back to at least 1790 and had established and built a large wine business in Czechoslovakia, but found himself a refugee in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Not long after arriving in his new home of Victoria, Paul found some suitable land near the old gold mining town of Graytown in central Victoria and set about planting a vineyard in 1955. Aided by friends and family but in particular his son Paul, Paul Snr started again in the new world and built up a new wine business in rudimentary conditions, establishing what is understood to be the first new wine grape vineyard planted in Victoria for over 50 years. New migrants from Europe saw that the traditional Australian drinking culture of beer evolved to include wine. The initial vintages off the Osicka property were sold to new Australians that had bought an appreciation of wine from the old country, then also to wine merchants in Sydney and Melbourne.

 
 

Paul joined his father full time at the vineyard and they continued to plant more vines and also built extensive cellars dug into a hill for the maturation of wine in oak and bottle. Paul did some short courses in winemaking and had taken over the winemaking by the mid 1970’s. The wines were regularly winning medals at wine shows and were becoming sought after. Paul’s mother, Rosalie, was also actively involved in the business, as was Paul’s wife Sandra, particularly in cellar door sales, along with their three children Simon, Sophie and Stephanie. As well as being known for its full bodied reds, the Osicka Estate was also becoming renowned for its Vintage Port styles, having won trophies for these in 1981, 1982 and 1983.

Following Paul Snr’s death in 1984, Paul continued to develop the vineyard and winery including the planting of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon. Paul also continued the move away from bulk wine production that was sold to merchants to estate bottled wines and completed the new underground cellars and formal tasting area.

 
 

Paul’s son Simon joined the family business full time in 2010. Simon is a First Class Honours graduate in Oenology and has held various Winemaking and Management positions in the Australian Wine Industry, most recently as the Senior Red Winemaker for Hardy’s Wines but previously at Leasingham in the Clare Valley and Houghton in Western Australia. Simon has also worked vintages in Germany, Italy, France and Canada. This included harvest at Domaine J.L. Chave in Hermitage in 2010, considered to be one of the finest producers of Syrah (Shiraz) in France. Simon worked with his father Paul across 10 vintages following joining the business full time. This included major redevelopment of the old vineyard, the planting of a small bush vine Grenache vineyard and ongoing evolution of the wine style.

Paul died in June 2019, after completing over 50 harvests on the vineyard. The vineyard and winery continue to be family owned and now run by Simon, who is aided by his partner Alison Phillips, an experienced viticulturist. They have two daughters, Zoe and Matilda. The role the family continues to play is that of the Vigneron, in striving to grow the best grapes to use to make wine.