The Thorpe family planted a 17 acre vineyard in 1997 on red brown clay over limestone along Malpas Road in McLaren Vale. Producing award winning wines since 2003, we make artisanal premium wines from our own mature vineyard and from our trusted friends and neighbors. Although we call McLaren Vale our home, we are interested in making delicious wines from excellent grapes sourced honestly from anywhere we see potential. The recent partnership between owner Nicole Thorpe and former NYC sommelier Brad Hickey has created a new vision to broaden Thorpe’s existing range of high caliber wines. Thorpe Wines is family owned and operated.

	Nicole Thorpe: Owner Nicole has raised a family in McLaren Vale and lived in the district since she was little. She has been the driving force in keeping Thorpe Wines competitive in the Australian wine scene since its inception in 1997 when they initially sold their fruit to Geoff Merrill. She is involved in every aspect of wine production and sales since the first vintage under the family name in 2003. At the same time, she is also the managing director of another family business, the water drilling company Kangarilla Drilling. Nicole@Thorpewines.com
	Brad Hickey: Managing Director Born and raised in Chicago, Brad has been in the wine industry for most of his life. As a 2 star Michelin sommelier in NYC for Daniel Boulud and David Bouley and as an importer and exporter of fine wines from the Antipodes, Brad brings a wealth of international experience and fresh ideas to the Thorpe Wines team. After living in Portland, Oregon, New York City, and Paris, he has settled in coastal McLaren Vale where he gardens, hikes and cooks with reckless abandon. Brad joined Thorpe Wines in 2007 and focuses on developing distribution and marketing channels. Brad@Thorpewines.com Check out Brad's blog here.
	Tim Geddes: Winemaker As Thorpe’s Winemaker since 2007, Tim brings considerable experience to the venture. Tim started in Hawke’s Bay, NZ, with three vintages as a cellar hand, which directly led to a move to Australia to complete the oenology degree at Adelaide University. Dual vintages in the Barossa and Hunter valleys were woven in between settling down in McLaren Vale. In 2002 he joined Wayne Thomas Wines as winemaker and was involved in making the wine that won the McLaren Vale Bushing King award for the Best Wine of the Show on two occasions. His wines have been awarded 11 trophies and countless medals. In 2007 following the death of Wayne Thomas, Geddes took over the winery where he makes wine both for Thorpe Wines and his own label. tim@geddeswines.com
	Peter Bolte: Viticulturist Peter’s family have been farmers in the McLaren Vale area since the 1800’s which led to his early start working on a 140 acre vineyard at the age of 15 and managing it by 21. Peter went on to spend 10 years at Fox Creek Wines involved in the establishment and management of hundreds of acres of vineyards in McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Adelaide Hills. He went out on his own and established a Viticultural Consultancy business in 1998 and is a member of the Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology (ASVO). He joined the Thorpe Wine team in 2007 and manages the all around health of our vineyard. Petebolt@esc.net.au

The Vineyard

Situated straddling a beautiful eastward facing rise in McLaren Vale, the Thorpe Estate Vineyard was planted in 1997 on red brown clay over limestone soil along Malpas Road. The vines are oriented in North-South rows and are trained using the double cordon technique. The 17 acre vineyard consists of 1 acre of Nero d’Avola, 11 acres of Shiraz, and 5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. We hand-pick and machine harvest according to the parcels we are gathering. The vineyard is managed using all the tools at our disposal to produce the best quality grapes possible. Minimal intervention is our credo.

News and Reviews

• 2008 Thorpe Shiraz won a Gold medal in October at the prestigious 2009 Australian Small Winemaker's Show. This was the first wine made from start to finish under the watchful eye of winemaker Tim Geddes who joined Thorpe in 2007.



• The grape variety Nero d’Avola was grafted to a dedicated research block in Thorpe Estate Vineyard on October 15th, 2009. The Sicilian varietal does extremely well in dry and warm Mediterranean climates with cooling influences from the sea, which are exactly the conditions here in McLaren Vale, as well. Thorpe is the first producer to begin growing the variety in McLaren Vale and expects to see its first harvest in 2011.



• 2006 Thorpe Sparkling Shiraz was awarded runner up in The 2009 Hyatt Advertiser Wine Show in Adelaide for best Sparkling Wine in South Australia. The gala black tie awards dinner was in September and annually awards the region’s top wines as voted by the critics and the people.

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