In 1965 when Alfredo and Annelise retired, Ken Nugan their son took over the family business. Ken continued the family tradition of supplying quality fresh produce to export markets, supermarket chains and produce markets in Australia, and expanded the family business.
Ken inherited Alfredo’s love of innovation, being the first to introduce and utilise optical sizing, grading and automated soft touch packing machines for citrus in Australia.
Ken built a modern juice factory utilising previously discarded oranges. He was a market leader in the produce and juice industry, producing orange, lemon and grape fruit juice and oils. Ken produced other premium juice products including Apple and Pear.
In 1986 Michelle, Ken’s wife, took control of the family business when he passed away unexpectedly. During the 1980s recession, Michelle led the business through a renaissance, re-affirming it as an Australian success story at a time when agribusiness was struggling. The family business developed premium apple, pear and carrot juice for export to Japan and pioneered the development of carrot juice containing no artificial colours or flavours. This innovation lead to becoming the largest producer of carrot juice in the Southern Hemisphere.
During this period the family acquired further agricultural holdings for both fresh fruit and grapes. As recognition of her achievements, Michelle was named Telstra Business Woman of the Year and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996.
Nugan Estate completed their first commercial vintage in 2000. The family built a state-of-the-art winery that was completed in 2002, sourcing wine grapes from premium vineyards in the Riverina, King Valley, Langhorne Creek, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, and Wrattonbully regions.
Today, Nugan Estate is owned and operated by Alfredo and Annelise’s grandson, Matthew Nugan. Matthew maintains the family traditions and shares their passion for good wine. Matthew has been integral in the growth of the family business since 1984.
80 years on, Nugan Estate remains family owned and operated. Alfredo’s generous spirit lives on with Nugan Estate and one of their partners jointly contributing to the funding of building 14 preschools in Africa. This is an ongoing project. Their philosophy of hard work, innovation, and commitment to the future is reflected in 44 trophies and over 1,500 medals.
