Len Evans, 75; Brought Australian Wines to World Attention

Len Evans, 75, an expert on Australian wines who made them, wrote about them and marketed them, died Aug. 17 of an apparent heart attack while driving in Newcastle, Australia.

An international wine judge, Evans was widely regarded as the man who put Australian wines on the world map.

Born Aug. 31, 1930, in England to Welsh parents, Evans immigrated first to New Zealand and then to Australia in the 1950s. His first job in the food and wine industry was at the Chevron Hilton in Sydney. In 1962 he began writing Australia’s first regular wine column for a weekly Sydney paper.

At that time Australia’s wine industry was known more for fortified wines such as port and sherry than for fine table wines as it is today. In 1965 Evans founded the Australian Wine Bureau and began promoting the production and sale of higher-quality wines.

He wrote the first encyclopedia of Australian wines and a history called “The Complete Book of Australian Wines.”

Evans was chairman of Rothbury Estate in the Hunter Valley wine region north of Sydney from 1969 to 1996, and Petaluma, near Adelaide, from 1978 to 1992. He also kept his family vineyard in the Hunter Valley until his death.

A bon vivant with a forceful personality, Evans was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1982 for his contributions to the wine industry.

He was known for the line: “You only have so many bottles in your life; never drink a bad one.”