Clare Valley’s Jim Barry is a name known around the world – a byword for quality and wine expertise. A founding member of Australia’s First Families of Wine, the Barry family celebrated the 60th anniversary of its winery in 2020, the year it also scooped the title of Halliday’s ‘Winery of the Year’. Over three generations the Barry name has been famous throughout the wine world and synonymous with the Clare Valley. Jim Barry bought his first vineyard here in 1959, and even helped the Taylor family open their winery a decade later. Son Peter took over Jim Barry in 1985, and today brothers Tom and Sam, with sister Olivia, have raised the bar even higher.Their range includes flawless Riesling (think Florita), unique Assyrtiko – a Greek white grape Peter introduced to Australia in 2016 – and exciting reds, including the iconic $350+ Armagh Shiraz. Tom (Gourmet Traveller WINE’s Young Winemaker of the Year 2013) and the impressively bearded Sam continue to push boundaries in style and flavour. "Clare Valley Shiraz is about brightness of fruit. The Eastern Ranges vineyard is one of the Clare Valley’s highest Shiraz vineyards and produces medium bodied Shiraz with bright red and purple fruit and lots of energy and freshness" says winemaker Tom Barry.

The Kaesler family were Silesian immigrants who settled in the Barossa Valley back in 1845, setting out the current vineyards in 1893. Though the family sold up in 1968 the estate is still in tact and bears the family name. Reid Bosward is the winemaker of this fine Shiraz, given 94pts by Dave Brooks in The Halliday Wine Companion. “Another cracker from the excellent 2021 vintage, more along the blueberry and boysenberry fruit line in this wine with abundant spice and hints of dark chocolate, licorice, Christmas cake, roasting meats and violets. Tight, fine sandy tannins lend ample support and the wine trails off nicely with a real meaty, dark-fruited edge.”

The Clare Valley's dynamic Claymore Wines celebrates a love of wine, music and football (of the round ball type). Their labels celebrate some of the winemaker's favourite albums and songs. Who are you is a deceptively attractive 93pts blend (65% Shiraz and 35% Mataro) taking an old school work-horse variety (Mataro) to pump up the volume on classic Clare Valley Shiraz... this is classy, complex and finely crafted. "... with plump mouthfeel backed by silky texture and beautifully melded tannins, offering excellent drinking. 93pts” (Sam Kim Wine Orbit). Ray Jodan, Wine Pilot agrees: "The seductive appeal is evident immediately the vibrant burst of red fruits leaps from the glass. A spicy and slightly savoury edge sits snuggly with the plump plummy cherry flavours of the palate. There’s a delicious, sweet fruit character on the finish. It’s a super combination that provides such excellent drinking in the short to medium term".

Craig Stansborough and Mark Slade started Purple Hands in southern Barossa 2006 from humble beginnings, making just 100 dozen the first vintage. Today "Purple Hands captures the purity and elegance that is possible when the raw materials are in good hands" Dave Brookes, The Halliday Wine Companion.

Barossa Valley legend Ben Glaezer grew up in wine, his father Colin was winemaker at Seppelt, and his uncle is John Glaetzer, head winemaker at Wolf Blass for over 30 years. After graduating from Adelaide University’s Roseworthy campus, and a spell at Tyrrell’s, Ben went on to win a number of honours and titles as winemaker of Glaezer wines. The Heartland story began in the late 1990’s when Ben became excited about the outstanding quality of fruit being grown in some of South Australia’s lesser-known regions, in particular Langhorne Creek, where he explored thoroughly along with some winemaking friends. Today Heartland sources all of its fruit exclusively from Langhorne Creek and makes mainly red wines. Ben makes them 100km away at his state of the art Barossa Vintners winery in Tanunda. The Illicium name comes from Illicium Verum, the Latin name for Star Anise. This is a mix of Cabernet, single vineyard Shiraz and a little joyous, juicy Dolcetto. Together they have created a dense extremely fruity red layered with spice, cased in mellow oak.