07/08/2026
I am completely floored after hearing the news of Matthew Jukes passing.
It was always a genuine honour to be in his company at the events we bumped in to him over the years.
Not only an inspirational figure, but a top bloke. The mark of the man is that he would come over to say hello to you, not the other way around. To have someone of that stature do that to me and Bryce, as he did on a number of occasions, shows what an utterly decent and down to earth fella he was. It was always a buzz to shake his hand and hear him call me “good man”. I would always call him “sir”, and rightly so, because I respected and admired him so much.
He always had time for a chat, whether about wine, planned trips or hols, or his beloved Spurs. I fully expected to get a bit of stick off him in our next encounter because they’ve just signed one of our best players! Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.
I can’t think of many that have done more for Australian wine than he has. I admit, without shame, that a lot of what I do around Aussie wine was to impress him.
I will be forever grateful that our worlds crossed and I will miss those impromptu meetings very much.
We send all our strength and love to Amelia, his family, and his friends.
The wine industry has lost a titan.
The world is very much a poorer place without Matthew Jukes.
RIP Sir.
Mark
