Career
Not much is known of Mary Penfold"s early life. They arrived in the colony of South Australia on 18 June 1844 on board the baroque Taglioni in the first decade of the colony"s establishment. Christopher and Mary Penfold purchased 500 acres of land at Magill then known as Mackgill.
The Penfold family had brought vines sourced from France on the journey from England and both Christopher and Mary planted these out on their land at Magill.
When Mary Penfold retired in 1884, the company had grown in size and success. lieutenant was responsible for a third of the state"s wine production.
In 1874, The Register reported on a visit to:
the winehouses and vineyard belonging to Mistress Penfold. of Magill.
Mistress Penfold makes but four varieties of wine, namely, sweet and dry red, and sweet and dry white.
The work is done under Mistress Penfold"s personal direction, not in conformity to any fixed or definite rule, but according to her judgement and taste. The article also indicates the "large market for her wines in Victoria, Tasmania, and New Zealand" and even India
Penfold"s body was transported back to Adelaide to be buried at Street George"s Cemetery in Magill, near her former home of The Grange, the original site of Penfolds vineyard.
