LONG-SERVING winemaker at Sevenhill Cellars in the Clare Valley, Jesuit Brother John May, died on August 18 aged 92.
Br May was the seventh Jesuit winemaker at Sevenhill in South Australia, a position he held from 1972 until his retirement from full-time work in 2003.
The winery was established is 1851 by the Society of Jesus, the religious order commonly known as the Jesuits.
“John’s engagement across the cellars, St Aloysius’ Church, and in later years the on-site retreat centre characterised Br John’s deep commitment to an active, but contemplative and devotional, faith,” Jesuit provincial Fr Quyen Vu said.
“John was so committed as a Jesuit to his mission in winemaking, which was unexpectedly entrusted to him.”
His ministry was appropriate as a Jesuit. It was offered to God with his Jesuit companions and friends.
Fr Quyen recalls arriving at Sevenhill with a group of young Jesuits at the conclusion of a pilgrimage.
“We were all tired and weary, Br John was there to welcome us and took care of us like younger brothers in a family,” he said.
Born in Sydney in 1929, as a child John was an altar boy at the Jesuit-run St Mary’s Church, North Sydney.
After finishing school, he took up a carpentry and joinery apprenticeship.
Following work in the building industry, he joined the Jesuits in 1949 at Loyola College, Watsonia in Victoria.
He spent the next fourteen years there, performing various tasks and learning new skills through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
His first assignment to the Jesuit winery at Sevenhill began in 1963, when he was sent to work with Jesuit Brother John Hanlon.
He was there for seven years.
It was Br Hanlon’s sudden death in 1972 that led to Br John’s recall to Sevenhill.
After arriving, he asked that the interim appointment be made permanent to ensure the winery would survive.
Returning to Sevenhill as Winemaker, without qualifications, he relied on his gifts with his hands and the fact that, in his words, he had spent his previous period there “with eyes and ears open.”
Over time he took courses in laboratory and cellar procedures at winemaking schools and was generously assisted by the local community of winemakers in the Clare Valley as he honed the craft.
Br May led the expansion of the Sevenhill vineyards, using the best clones of varieties suitable to the Clare Valley, and production grew from 80 tonnes to 500 tonnes per year by 1990.
Sevenhill’s sacramental wine distribution expanded across Australia to countries throughout South-East Asia.
The range of table wines was developed, and a Cellar Door established, attracting up to 40,000 visitors per year.
After retiring from full time winemaking, Br John could be relied upon to prepare morning tea for the winery staff, to continue his care for St Aloysius’ Church, which is on the Sevenhill site, and to offer tours to visitors around the property.
Fr Quyen said Br May’s vocation was, in his own words, “to offer my gifts and talents; my hands are to serve the Lord through the Society of Jesus”.
“Along with his deep faith, it was his engagement with community that was most important to him,” Sevenhill Cellars general manager Jonathan O’Neill said.
“What he would have been most proud of is what he did for the local community.
“John May was a great man, one of the truly great gentlemen of the Australian wine industry and community, who will be sorely missed.”
