Dr John Kirk, 90, is a winemaker and leading Australian scientist. Tim Kirk, 59, is the fourth of his six sons and chief winemaker at the family vineyard in Murrumbateman, north-west of Canberra.

“I wouldn’t have minded if he’d become a priest – there were times in his life when I thought that was quite probable,” says John Kirk of his son Tim, “but this place, this vineyard, captured him.” Stephen Lacey

Tim: One of my earliest memories of Dad is of us kneeling beside the bed and saying prayers together. It’s a memory for which I’m grateful. My father was the strongest man in my universe, and to see him kneeling in prayer gave me a sense of reverence that continues to this day.

He was always busy. He wrote a number of books and ended up as a chief research scientist with the CSIRO. But he’s also very creative. He’s deep into Irish music and used to make traditional instruments.…