RDA Barossa committee member awarded
Published: 29th August 2012
RDA Barossa (South Australia) board member and business woman Victoria McClurg was honoured with the Award for Entrepreneurship at the 2012 Distinguished Australian Family Business of the Year Awards held in the Hunter Valley on 24 August 2012.
Victoria McClurg is the founder of South Australia’s Barossa Valley Cheese Company. Victoria was chosen above all state finalists in the national award program that is given annually to an exceptional family business entrepreneur.
The judges said “Victoria had a great idea and was prepared to persevere to bring it to fruition. Through her business, she is making a profound contribution to the Barossa region and to tourism in South Australia.”
The Barossa Valley Cheese Company was born out of Ms McClurg’s vision and its success is a result of her hard work and business abilities.
“I started out as a winemaker but was soon drawn to the creativity and challenges of cheese making. It was an opportunity to enhance the Barossa’s traditional food culture with a true artisan product and to add depth and value to its wine offering,” Ms McClurg said.
Ms McClurg learned the art and science of cheese making in March 2003 and opened the doors of the Barossa Valley Cheese Company in the idyllic village of Angaston.
“Sourcing milk locally has always been vital to the character of our product. And with small dairy farmers struggling to survive, it has become even more important to not only support them, but to add value to our farming community.”
The company welcomes interstate and intrastate visitors through its doors in ever increasing numbers with more than 46 000 visitors in 2011—12. Ms McClurg’s quiet passion and thoughtful business practices are testimony to her worthiness of the Family Business of the Year Award for Entrepreneurship. She has been a member of RDA Barossa since 20 November 2009 and was reappointed this year until 20 November 2015.
For more information, visit the RDA Barossa website.
(Pictured above) RDA Barossa committee member Victoria McClurg.