If you dropped by Noon’s cellar door at
McLaren Vale in the 1980s, chances are
you’d be greeted by a tall man wearing a
leather cap. He’d remember your name
and what you bought, even if you’d only
been there once, years before. ‘Did you
find that shiraz as good as I thought you
would?’, he’d ask with a smile.
That man was Clive Simmonds an artist, teacher and cellar door
aficionado, whose commitment to bettering the McLaren Vale
region was so legendary that each year someone receives a trophy
in his memory.
The Clive Simmonds Memorial Trophy was founded in 1989 by the
Wine Tourism Committee to recognise the best ambassador for the
McLaren Vale region in the hospitality industry. Each year committee
members nominate individuals who, like Clive, go above and beyond
to promote the area.
Clive and his wife, fellow artist Margaret Simmonds, immigrated
from England in 1979 to join a pottery workshop in Paris Creek.
When Clive started working for Noon’s winery in the mid 1980s,
he quickly realised the value of creating an experience that visitors
would savour — and not just at Noon’s cellar door. Clive was known
for recommending other cellar doors’ wines, local restaurants, and
galleries he thought visitors would enjoy.
‘Clive was open to suggesting to people where they should go to
have other kinds of experiences,’ Margaret explains. ‘He was always
trying to get them more involved. He used to get two or three wineries
to come together in a brochure, so small wineries could share the
cost and link the route between them for tastings. Clive had a highly
creative mind; the kind that makes the person see the world with
brighter eyes.’
Clive started cellar door meetings because he saw the benefits of
collaboration, rather than competition. As a graphic designer, he
also believed in extending a winery’s brand to create a full aesthetic
experience, including everything from signage design to ensuring
cellar door staff could speak knowledgeably about the wines. ‘He
was fully aware of the look and feel and the flow, the need to use
word-of-mouth and imagery, because you’ve got to get the memory
of wherever the customer has been in their head,’ Margaret says.
‘That way, any time they come to South Australia they’ll head for
that winery.’The latest trophy recipient is McLaren Vale local Jenni Mitton, who
brings energy and enthusiasm not just to her day job as General
Manager of the Willunga Farmers Market, but to her many and varied
volunteer commitments. Jenni believes Clive’s inclusive approach still
reverberates through the region today. ‘When I worked in cellar doors,
customers would say they love how wineries here would happily
recommend where to go next,’ Jenni tells me. ‘I really believe that’s a
trait Clive Simmonds has passed on in the industry, and it has become
learned behaviour.’Clive’s capacity to see the bigger picture is also clear in Jenni’s
approach, as she is always connecting people and ideas for the
benefit of the community. ‘If you overhear someone trying to find
out some information and you can help them, why not?,’ she says.
‘If you’ve got some time on your hands and can help organise
something your community will enjoy, why not?’
For James Hook, the trophy is all the more meaningful because it’s
peer awarded. James is an agronomist and founder of wine label and
cellar door Lazy Ballerina. It’s his volunteer passions, including geology
tours of McLaren Vale’s famed soils, and the podcast he and wine
expert Gill Gordon-Smith make to explain complex grape growing
concepts, that saw James’ name added to the trophy’s honour roll.
‘I was recognised for my commitment to training and helping people
who want to get a deeper level of knowledge,’ he says. ‘You can win
awards in wine shows, but this is a recognition of your extra-curricular
activities. You’re being judged for being you, rather than being judged
for a flash building you sell wine from.’Jenni has the perpetual trophy at her home for a year, displayed
where she can see the engraving of a magpie above Clive’s name.
The magpie is a ‘tip of the hat’ to a small painting Clive made for
David Noon, which hung in the cellar door. Margaret believes it reflects
Clive’s lifelong affinity with birds. ‘At Noon’s, Clive fed the magpies,’
she explains. ‘He would whistle and call and hold cheese up, and in
they’d fly to sit on his arms and head.’
Much like the customers who experienced Clive’s warm hospitality,
the birds would return whenever they knew he was around. While
Clive passed away more than twenty years ago, the memorial trophy
helps maintain the spirit of generosity central to the McLaren Vale
experience, and recognises others who, like Clive, see the world
through brighter eyes.Remembering Clive
Story by Ynys Onsman. Illustration by Pip Kruger.