Rory Clifton-Parks
Australia
Loves surfing, boxing and making wine
- Growing up in the beachside suburbs of Perth, Rory Clifton-Parks developed an early love of the salt, sand and sun that his coastal surroundings enveloped him in.
- Rory has been winemaking for 15 years now, having first started working for Evans and Tate and Boar's Rock in Western Australia.
- Rory strives to make high quality wines which reflect the terroir of the region. With some of the best facilites Margaret River has to offer, Rory gets great satisfaction from seeing fruit processed through to the final bottled product.
Vineyard Location
Rory Clifton-Parks's Story
Rory's story
Growing up in the beachside suburbs of Perth’s North Beach, Trigg’s and Scarborough, Rory Clifton-Parks developed an early love of the salt, sand and sun that his coastal surroundings enveloped him in. With aspirations to start his own landscape gardening business, he completed TAFE certificates in Horticulture and Small Business upon graduating from high school.
It was through taking time out after completing his study to embark on a working holiday in the South West where Rory retreated to nature and found himself camping at Yallingup and working in a vineyard for the first time.
After absorbing his new surroundings - which offered a beautiful balance of beach and bush - Rory came to realise that the South West offered the perfect lifestyle and this inspired him to commence studying Viticulture at Curtin University so he could one day return and settle in the region.
An enthusiastic interest in the science of winemaking saw Rory complete his Oenology degree and in 2006 he visited Sonoma in California where he worked for a small family owned and operated winery. Besides making and drinking extremely good wine he surfed northern California on his time off and managed to sneak in a surf trip to Mexico.
Upon returning to WA, and just as planned, Rory's chosen career path enabled him to relocate to the south and between 2007-2011 he worked as a winemaker for Evans and Tate and Boar’s Rock.
Having recently commenced winemaking for Franklin Tate Estates, Rory strives to make high quality wines which reflect the Terrior of the region. With some of the best facilities Margaret River has to offer at his disposal, Rory gets great satisfaction from seeing fruit processed through to the final bottled product.
It is no surprise that Rory’s palate is biased towards Margaret River varietals and styles and he can often be found indulging in a well deserved glass or two of Chardonnay, Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon after a long day at the vineyard.
Spending his time immersed in a natural environment and surfing the enviable breaks of the Margaret River coastline, Rory’s passion for his region is surpassed only by his passion to bottle the beauty of Margaret River and share it with the rest of the world.
