Wine and Tourism icon passes away suddenly.

With wine forming a critical part of Australia’s tourism industry, the passing away of Australian wine icon Len Evans, yesterday ends a significant period in Australian wine history.

Described in the Sydney Morning Herald as a “legend in his own lunchtime”, Welshman Len, one of the best-known figures and a pioneer of the Australian wine industry had gone to collect his wife, Patricia, from Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital, where she had undergone surgery but died of a heart attack at the wheel of his car in the Hospital’s car park.

Len was 75 but had suffered from heart trouble for some years.

In the Sydney Morning Herald, his son-in-law Steve Waterson, who is married to Mr Evans’s daughter, Sally, said: “It’s very sudden and very tragic for the whole family.”

The Chief Executive of the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, Sam Tolley, said: “Len Evans was a person who lit the fire of enthusiasm for table wine in Australia in the 1960s at a time when it was far from the minds of most Australians.

“His fervent passion for the industry infected many through his relentless campaigning for the industry to address a range of issues, and his belief and excitement in education of both wine enthusiasts and the general public.

“Len’s passing robs Australia of one of its greatest characters, whose enormous influence as a wine writer, show judge, maker and advocate leaves an extraordinary legacy.”

The Chief Executive of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, Stephen Strachan, said: “He was a pioneer in the development and promotion of modern table wines, setting the industry up to grow from a specialist producer of fortified wines to a leading producer of wines for all occasions.

“We have lost a true champion of the Australian wine industry.”

Mr Evans was a physical fitness instructor with the Royal Air Force in England before arriving in Sydney in 1955. Gregarious, articulate and witty, he worked at a variety of jobs from dingo fencer to professional golfer to television scriptwriter.

He fell into the wine industry and was the first regular wine columnist in Australia, with articles published from 1962.

He was the founding director of the Australian Wine Bureau in 1965 and wrote the first encyclopedia of Australian wine in 1973. He also wrote The Complete Book of Australian Wine, probably the most detailed and significant historical account of Australian wine producers.

He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1982 for his services to the wine industry and charity, and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1999.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia, daughters Sally and Jodie and a son, Toby.

Report by The Mole