The Morris Family History
Excellence since 1859. Crafted for today.
Established in 1859, the Morris family winery is one of the most acclaimed fortified producers in the world.
Craftsmanship in blending, ageing and creating world-class fortified wine has been passed down through six generations of the family, allowing MORRIS to truly master the creation of extraordinary flavour in Australian single malt whisky.
The unique and distinctive MORRIS whisky flavour comes from unrivalled access to fortified wine barrels for finishing the whisky, barrels which have held the world’s most highly awarded fortified wines.
In 2016, the distillery was built around the original copper still built in the 1930’s and installed at the Morris winery in 1941.
Today, we combine decades of tradition, our heritage still and ancient fortified casks with contemporary techniques to create a whisky that is a true expression of time and place.
Our History
1859
In 1859, George Francis Morris established a vineyard and winery near Rutherglen in North Easten Victoria. He planted a trial vineyard plot of ten acres at “Fairfield,” two miles east of the current Morris “Mia Mia” location.
1885
By 1885, plantings had grown to over 200 acres, making Morris the largest wine producer in the Southern Hemisphere.
1897
Charles Hughes Morris, son of George, had established a new vineyard at “Mia Mia” only a few kilometres from the original Morris plantings. Selling his prize-winning horse Fairfield to develop the property, the image of the horse is now the company trademark.
1953
Charles Henry (Mick) Morris was the first family winemaker to be university educated and returned to Rutherglen to commence his first official vintage as winemaker in 1953. Mick is recognised as a pioneer of Durif as a table wine varietal.
1993
In 1993, Mick’s son, David, became the fifth-generation winemaker. Combining 145 years of winemaking tradition with modern techniques, David is one of the most awarded winemakers in Australia.
2003
Under David’s guidance, the Morris range of table, fortified and sparkling wines collected an amazing tally of 20 trophies and 223 medals, including 80 Gold in 2003.
2016
In 2016 we revived a dormant copper still, breathing new life into the distillery. What began as an experiment blossomed into the creation of a premium single malt whisky, boasting flavours as rich and unique as the region itself.
2018
A momentous year for awards, Morris of Rutherglen’s Old Premium Rare Liqueur Muscat was classed ‘Best Muscat in the World’ at Muscat Du Monde and recognised at the prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) as the 2018 Fortified Producer of the year.
2019
Morris of Rutherglen celebrated 160 years of winemaking history and tradition. To commemorate, an Old Premium Rare Tawny was released with limited quantities of exactly 160 cases.
2021
Morris Australian Single Malt Whisky launched in the Australian market with two core products: the Signature (40%) and Muscat Barrel (46%).
2024
Following David's retirement, his son, Madden, became the sixth-generation winemaker, continuing a tradition in producing both wines and whiskies in conjunction with Head Distiller, Darren Peck. Morris Australian Single Malt Whisky is now in over 8 markets, with 6 core products and more whiskies in development for future release.