John Rymill
Managing Director
John grew up on the family farm near Penola, South Australia, and gained further pastoral experience on Elkedra Station, north-west of Alice Springs NT, Burraki near Walcha NSW and Rangari at Gunnedah NSW, as well as working in the Rymill vineyards and winery. He graduated in 2000 from Marcus Oldham Agricultural College, Geelong, with an Advanced Diploma in Rural Business Management and, after travelling overseas, became the manager of Old Penola Estate in 2003. In his spare time he enjoys being involved with the local community both as a member of the Penola Country Fire Service and as an active participant in the Coonawarra Grapegrowers’ and Vignerons’ Associations.
John was appointed managing director of Rymill Coonawarra Winery in 2008, which makes him the fifth generation with involvement in the district that his great-great-grandfather, John Riddoch, founded in 1890. Now, 121 years later, John is confident that the best is yet to come from Coonawarra, and is determined that his vineyard and winemaking teams will be well to the forefront of these exciting developments.
Samantha (née Rymill) Hickson
Director
After obtaining a science degree from Adelaide University, Sam worked for two years on mustering camps in the Northern Territory both at Carlton Hill near Kunnunurra and Millungera near Julia Creek.
She then returned to the academic world as a tutor at Robb College, University of New England, where she completed a graduate diploma, before undertaking a Master of Rural Science involving research into beef tenderness. It was here that she met her future husband, John, who was completing his PhD in Merino fibre genetics. They married in 1997 and now live at Boomi, northern NSW, where they managed to have four children in under than four years, the last two being twins.
Sam is now actively involved in the Hickson family farm, as well as the local community through her current role as president of the school P&C Committee. She is also studying for her Masters in Education.
Fiona (née Rymill) Riordan
Director
From an early age Fiona was a keen horsewoman, and her equestrian interests remained with her through Glenormiston College, from which she graduated with an Associate Diploma of Agricultural Office Administration.
For the next three years she worked her way around the world, as a wrangler on a Texas Quarter Horse Ranch, a secretary at the Lowther Country Fair in the Lake District, and a nanny in both Edinburgh and London. She then returned to office administration for several years with an agricultural consultancy firm in Shepparton, Victoria, before working as the crusher operator at Rymill Winery for the 1999 vintage.
She married Paul Riordan later in the year, after which they lived at Boundary Bend near the confluence of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers for six years, whilst establishing an olive production company. They now live at Gol Gol, NSW, with their two sons, where Fiona still finds time to remain involved with the company, as well as various community activities.
Lisa (née Rymill) Gruetzner
Director
Lisa grew up in the Coonawarra region but spent her early professional years in Melbourne. Her first foray into the wine industry was during her university holidays when she was employed at Rymill Coonawarra as a vineyard worker. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree at Melbourne University she worked as the winery crusher operator for the 1997 vintage. This funded her trip to the US where she worked on a summer camp in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.
After returning to Australia in 1998 and completing a Graduate Diploma in Human Resources and Industrial Relations, Lisa spent over four years working in corporate Human Resources in Melbourne. In 2004 she returned to the country, and to Rymill Coonawarra. She married Michael Gruetzner in 2007, and they are now the proud parents of Amelia, born in 2010.
Peter Rymill
Chairman of Directors
Peter grew up in Penola and Geelong, before studying genetics and biochemistry at Adelaide University. He was a keen horseman, representing South Australia in polo, winning the Australian Show Jumping Championship in 1965 and captaining the Australian Show Jumping Team that toured New Zealand in 1966. However, his best equestrian times were with his own children and numerous other young tearaways when he was the Chief Instructor of the Penola Pony Club.
After a number of years farming he returned to external study, and graduated in Wine Science (with distinction) from Charles Sturt University, and later obtained a Diploma in Wine Marketing from Roseworthy College. He and his wife, Judy, planted their first vines in 1968, and built the Rymill Winery in 1995. He is now semi-retired, is the Chairman of the Penola District Cultural Fund, and is keenly interested in local history.
Reg Rymill
Front of House and Vermin Control Officer
The son of Jock and Lucy, Reg was born on 9 April 2003 at Boundary Bend near the confluence of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers in northern Victoria. His father died young, due to his penchant for fresh poultry, but his mother led a long and fulfilling life.
In his youth Reg joined the Rymill family at Penola and embarked on the career of cattle-dog. Showing early promise, he developed his own labour-saving method of mustering a large paddock, which consisted of sitting in the middle and licking the cows’ noses when they came to investigate. He would then charm them out the gate and politely lead them along the lane to whatever awaited them at the cattle yards.
Reg suffered a temporary mid-career setback when he fell off the back of a speeding quad-bike (due, he claims, to driver negligence and poor OH&S procedures) and broke his hind leg. It required major surgery, but as a consequence he has since developed various advanced techniques of maintaining a confident profile on the back of fast-moving vehicles, and has learnt not to alight whilst they are still in motion.
He joined the Rymill Coonawarra team in 2008, where he provides a discerning welcome to visitors at the front door, and in his spare time assiduously monitors the level of vermin elsewhere around the winery. Popular with all (except the vermin) he has achieved super-model status as top calendar-dog for three years running with Australian Winery Dog Publications. His culinary tastes include copious quantities of any well-hung game, occasionally garnished with a piquant side-serve of snail bait.