LISA MARGAN
MY STORY
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
I grew up in Sydney but have lived and worked in the Hunter Valley since I married a winemaker in the late 1980’s. Moving out of a city to take up a rural lifestyle is now called a ‘green change’ but apart from being in love with a winemaker, I mostly went kicking and screaming. Now this beautiful valley is my home. Andrew and I created a business, Margan Wines, based in the picturesque village of Broke. Established in 1996 Margan now boasts a five-star winery, 100 ha of sustainably farmed vineyards, a hatted restaurant and awarded cellar door.
Going back a few decades, I was born and raised in Sydney. After school I attended Hawkesbury Agricultural College studying a teaching degree (Bachelor of Applied Science) where I met Andrew Margan one night at the college bar. I am pretty sure neither of us were drinking premium wine! After a couple of years teaching, we married, and I moved to join Andrew in the Hunter.
I had always wanted to be a chef despite it being a tough, male dominated industry with terrible working hours. What’s not to love? So, I re-trained with respected Hunter Chef Robert Molines. Then the travel bug hit, and we set up home in Bordeaux, France where Andrew made wine and I worked as a chef.
It was here I developed an appreciation for quality produce, technique and the unique appeal of food and wine in the context of a premium wine region. We put together the blueprint for our future business.
IT WAS HERE I DEVELOPED AN APPRECIATION FOR QUALITY PRODUCE, TECHNIQUE AND THE UNIQUE APPEAL OF FOOD AND WINE IN THE CONTEXT OF A PREMIUM WINE REGION. WE PUT TOGETHER THE BLUEPRINT FOR OUR FUTURE BUSINESS.
After France (and a stint in Moldova in the former Soviet, but that’s another story) we returned to the Hunter, with a one year old, a continued passion for food and wine as well as a new interest in resuming study. I went back to Uni and completed a Master’s Degree in science and nutrition, focusing on organic food production. Another baby. Then a job I really loved as a nutritionist (hospital based) until going on maternity leave with our third Margan child. Yeah, I get bored easily.Â
In 1996 Andrew left his job at Tyrrells Wines and we launched our small wine brand, MARGAN. I always planned to return to ‘my career’ but found I had in fact started another one. My dream was to create a cellar door and restaurant with an agri-dining focus so that guests could better connect with the provenance of their wine and food. We built a striking rammed earth cellar door and restaurant which we opened in 2007. Additional to estate grown wines, Margan Restaurant offers a seasonally inspired menu based around produce from the one-hectare Kitchen Garden and Orchard as well as free range eggs, honey, olives and lambs from the Margan flock of sheep. Oh, and our ‘small’ Margan Wines is now a 25,000 case brand which we sell domestically and to many export destinations. Â
My background in organic food production inspired me to lead the business down a Sustainably Farmed pathway and introduce an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the business. Margan is proud to be considered a regional leader in Environmental Stewardship. We are fully accredited members of Sustainable Winegrowers Australia and our certification is benchmarked to International Standards ISO 14001 for best practice.
Today, I oversee all business operations with Andrew, ably assisted by a passionate, committed team of about thirty.
I am a strong advocate for the promotion of wine, food and the hospitality industry. I was Deputy Chair of the Hunter Culinary Association for a decade and a founding board member of the Sydney based Women of Hospitality Organisation WOHO. I love supporting worthy causes and charities and am involved in many mentoring programs. I was proud to be awarded the 2018 Leadership in Foodservice Award for Women in recognition of my contributions to the Hospitality industry.
On a personal note Andrew and I have three children, now all finished university and two have returned to work in the family buisness. I live nowhere near the snow but love skiing, am an avid traveler, wine lover (WSET Diploma graduate in Wine & Spirits) dedicated cook and gardener. Yoga and meditation keep me sane. I like to take the path less travelled and look forward to my next challenge.
Margan is proud to have received the following accolades:
5 Star Winery James Halliday Wine Companion 2009 – 2024
One Chef Hat – National Good Food Guide 2017 – 2024
Top 10 Regional Restaurants – NSW Gourmet Traveller 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 One Star
Lisa Margan – Outstanding Contribution by an Individual. Hunter Culinary Association 2021
Lisa Margan – Leadership in Foodservice, Women in Foodservice Awards 2018
Hunter Valley Cellar Door of the Year 2018, Hunter Valley Wine Tourism Association
Gourmet Traveller Wine Best Food in a Cellar Door 2018, 2020 HV
Gourmet Traveller Wine Star Cellar Door 2021 HV
Winner – Excellence in Food Tourism, Australian Tourism Awards 2014, 2016, 2017
Winner – Best Winery, NSW & Hunter Tourism Awards – Hall of Fame
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
49
VINTAGES
22
AWARDS
25
TROPHIES
23
MARGAN WINES
