The Jack Mann Memorial Medal is one of the most prestigious and enduring awards in the Western Australian wine industry.
Established in 1989 by the WA Wine Press Club, the medal honours the legacy of legendary winemaker Jack Mann of Houghton Wines — a towering figure whose impact on Western Australian wine continues to resonate.
Anyone who has made a significant contribution to the WA wine industry can be nominated for the medal.
Nominations are invited once a year from financial members of the WAWPC.
The medal remains solely the property of the WA Wine Press Club Est 1976.
JMMM Recipients
2025 - Jeff and Amy Burch.
Jeff and Amy Burch are the visionary duo behind one of Western Australia’s most renowned family wineries, Howard Park.
For nearly four decades, the Burches have been instrumental in shaping the landscape of WA wine. As early champions of multi-regional blending, they built Howard Park on the belief that the distinct climates of the Great Southern and Margaret River could produce wines of exceptional quality and complexity. This pioneering vision, combined with Jeff’s "no compromise" approach to winemaking, along with Amy’s strategic marketing and design acumen and strict attention to detail, has established Howard Park as a global benchmark for Australian wine.
As this year’s recipients, Howard Park’s Jeff and Amy Burch have equally contributed to the growth and standing of the industry, directly through their own wines, but also through encouragement and involvement in many other aspects of the industry.
Past Recipients
2024 - Vanya Cullen OAM
Vanya Cullen is one of the most influential figures in Western Australian wine, recognised for her pioneering approach to quality, sustainability, and authenticity. As Managing Director and Chief Winemaker of Cullen Wines in Margaret River, she has carried forward the legacy of her parents, Kevin and Diana Cullen, shaping the estate into one of Australia’s most respected producers of elegant, terroir-driven Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
A passionate advocate for biodynamic viticulture, Vanya made Cullen Wines the first carbon-neutral winery in Australia, setting a benchmark for sustainable practice across the industry. Her work has shown that environmental responsibility and fine wine are not only compatible but mutually enriching, inspiring many West Australian producers to follow her lead.
Over more than four decades, Vanya has also been a tireless ambassador for the region, championing Margaret River’s unique climate and soils while mentoring and collaborating across the industry. Her legacy lies not only in the acclaim of Cullen Wines but in helping to establish Margaret River as a globally recognised fine wine region built on quality and integrity.
2023 - Peter Forrestal.
Peter has been an author wine columnist for over 10 publications, Wine reviewer for the Quaff annual editions from 2000 to 2011, instrumental in the creation of the
Australian Gourmet Traveler wine, Australia's finest wine magazine over the past 25 years.
He has been the chairman of judging shows, and appeared on multiple tasting panels.
A former President of the WA Wine Press Club & committee member for 8 years.
2022 - Virginia Willcock.
Virginia’s creativity and curiosity have underpinned decades of innovation and evolution at Vasse Felix, and a more recent milestone is the regional icon, the TOM CULLITY, which demonstrates the heights of quality, purity, and personality that Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon can achieve, in an internationally relevant context.
Known for her openness and generosity when it comes to sharing knowledge and insights with her peers, along with her passion for continued excellence and improvement in the Margaret River and Western Australian industries.
Awarded Winemaker of the Year on numerous occasions in Australia and Internationally and is also one of the country’s most trusted spokespeople for Margaret River and Western Australian wines.
2021 - John Brocksopp.
John joined Leeuwin Estate in 1979 as vineyard manager/production director. Born in Renmark in South Australia’s Riverland, he gained viticultural experience in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. At Leeuwin he quickly saw the need to improve the vine growing environment, by establishing wind breaks to protect the vines from the equinoctial gales. He continued to introduce many innovations to provide the wine maker with high quality, distinctively flavoured fruit. As production manager, John had an holistic view of the whole production process and was instrumental in delivering the best possible fruit to the winery each vintage.
2021 - Bob Cartwright.
Bob began his winemaking career in 1963 at Kaiser Stuhl in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. In 1973 he relocated to WA and in 1978 joined Leeuwin Estate for their first vintage. He spent 28 vintages with Leeuwin and is credited with having crafted what was to become known as one of Australia’s finest Chardonnays, the Leeuwin Estate Art Series. Establishing Margaret River Chardonnay as a world class wine was one of Bob’s significant career highlights.
2020 - John Jens.
Despite being a Victorian, John’s enthusiasm for the wines of Western Australia borders on fanatical. Statistics are Johns forté, and he regularly uses them to illustrate how WA wines consistently punch above their weight, especially Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling. His enthusiasm and promotion of WA wine has been and continues to be exceptional.
2019 - Keith and Clare Mugford.
Keith and Clare purchased Moss Wood Wines from Bill & Sandra Pannell in 1985 and have continued to produce wines of outstanding quality. Established in 1969, Moss Wood is now firmly established as one of the first growths of Margaret River. Their contribution to the prestige of WA wine is undeniably of great significance.
2018 - Gavin Berry.
Gavin has been an enthusiastic advocate and long term player in the Great Southern; he was Senior Winemaker at Plantagenet Wines from 1994 to 2004 and now Senior winemaker at West Cape Howe. The success of his wines across all price brackets has underscored his significant contribution to the Western Australian wine industry.
2017 - Robert Bowen.
Rob has had a long and illustrious career in the WA wine industry, and his contribution is most significant. His WA career began in 1979 at the then-fledgling Great Southern winery of Plantagenet, followed by Capel Vale wines, a stint at Palliser in New Zealand, then Willow Bridge in the Ferguson Valley. He became Chief Winemaker at Houghton and since 2009 has his own labels Robert Bowen and Pemberley.
2016 - David and Heather Watson.
The Watsons were among the early pioneers in Margaret River and have established themselves in the upper echelon of WA wineries. David and Heather have consistently promoted the quality and excellence of Western Australian wines.
2015 - David Hohnen AM
Synonymous with Cape Mentelle, David’s contribution to the Margaret River region is outstanding. Winning consecutive Jimmy Watson trophies in 1983 and 1984 certainly went a long way to putting Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon on the Australian wine map. David continues to be an enthusiastic advocate for the region.
2014 - Bill Crappsley.
Bill began his career in 1964 working under Jack Mann at the Houghton Winery. In 1968 he moved to South Australia and spent the next 10 years taking in McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, the Hunter Valley, the Riverland and the Barossa. In 1972 he began advising Evans & Tate and joined them for vintage 1978. After 15 vintages, he left to join Sandalford for a seven-year period and has been free-lance since 2001. Bill has judged at all the WA shows and did 4 years of wine talk-back with Verity James on ABC radio, and he continues to be an enthusiastic promoter of WA wine
2013 - Michael Tamburri.
Larger than life, Michael is the man behind the La Vigna liquor store; he is an enthusiastic promoter of Western Australian wine and is actively involved in many aspects of the wine and food industry. Michael’s commitment to the dissemination of wine knowledge is highly regarded.
2012 - Dorham Mann OAM
As an extension oenologist with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture in the early 1960’s Dorham, under Bill Jamieson, was involved with the development of vineyards in The Great Southern and Margaret River. In 1973 Dorham Joined Sandalford Wines and was responsible for the production of much of the early fruit from both regions. A wine of particular note was the Forrest Hill vineyard’s 1975 Riesling winning 12 gold medals and 9 trophies in Australian wine shows. Dorham has been a senior wine judge for well over 30 years and was inducted into the ‘Icons of the Valley’ in 2010.
2011 - Betty Quick (Pearse)
Betty & Tony Pearse were pioneers of The Great Southern wine industry. The Department of Agriculture planted the first experimental vineyard at the Pearse’s Mt Barker property in 1965; it failed and was re-planted soon after; it then flourished. The early wines were a positive, medal-winning indication of the area’s potential, and despite many early mishaps, the vineyard is now consistently producing wines of outstanding quality.
2010 - Ray Jordan.
Ray is one of Australia’s most respected wine journalists and has been writing about wine for over 40 years. He has regularly judged at wine shows around Australia and has authored or co-authored several books on wine. Ray contributes two weekly columns to ‘The West Australian’ and one to the ‘Sunday Times’. He also writes the annual ‘West Australian Wine Guide’. Ray’s contribution to the knowledge and understanding of Western Australian wine is outstanding.
2009 - Will Nairn.
Will founded ‘Peel Estate’ in 1974 and quickly established a reputation for making very high-quality Shiraz. He holds a ‘Great Shiraz Tasting’ for six-year-old Australian Shiraz’s and pits Peel Estate against Australia’s best; his wine is rarely outside the top 4 or 5. Will has been a senior wine judge at Perth and other WA wine shows. His contribution to the WA wine industry is significant.
2008 - Tony Devitt.
Tony’s contribution to the Western Australian wine industry is far-reaching. He has been Senior Viticulturist with the Department of Agriculture, a practising wine maker and winery owner, the President of the Royal Agricultural Society, instrumental in forming the Grape Growers and Wine Makers Association of WA and has won numerous industry awards and many other accolades. Suffice to say, his contribution to Western Australian wine has been nothing short of outstanding.
2007 - John Griffiths .
John spent eight years as president of the Wine Industry Association of WA and six years as president of the Swan Valley & Regional Winemakers Association. John has contributed throughout the state as a wine judge at Perth, Mt Barker, Swan Valley, Geographe, Margaret River and Blackwood Valley wine shows. He was employed as Lecturer in Wine Science by Curtin University for six years and has consulted extensively.