Eden Valley Wines

Eden Valley has long been the Barossa Valley’s little-known brother. That is changing, especially as warmer seasons on the Barossa Valley floor mean cooler climate Eden Valley fruit is fetching higher prices.

Those devoted to the future of Eden Valley have been working together in recent years to bring greater understanding of the elegant styles of wine created from Eden Valley vineyards. The 12 grapegrowers and winemakers behind Eden Valley Wines draw together super-premium parcels of fruit each year from their own vineyards to create collective wines, which they hope represent the pinnacle of winemaking in Eden Valley. The names of those involved certainly gives one confidence that such a lofty goal will be met.

They are: Bob Berton, a veteran of 22 years in wine company management in NSW and SA; John Dawkins, former Hawke and Keating government Minister; David Hall, a consultant Adelaide spinal surgeon who produces wine under his Eden Hall label; Stephen Henschke, a fifth-generation Eden Valley winemaker of wines such as Hill of Grace; James Irvine, patriarch of Eden Valley winemakers with more than 50 years in the industry; Joanne Irvine, following in the footsteps of her father but making her own mark; Trevor March, former viticulture lecturer who has led his family in reviving the historic Heathvale vineyard; Peter Seppelt, a fifth-generation member of the famous Australian wine dynasty; Richard Sheedy, using more than 15 years’ industry experience to now make Glen Eldon wines; Brian Waples, long a leader in Barossa wine management; Richard Wiencke, a former journalist who launched the Eden Springs wine label; and Ian Zander, who has worked almost 50 vintages on the family’s Wroxton Grange vineyard. - John Lehmann