Thorpe Wines proprietor, Nicole Thorpe, purchased 20 acres of land on Malpas Road in South Australia’s beautiful McLaren Vale in 1996. The property had a house and established shedding, which Nicole and her husband Craig saw as an opportunity for expanding their primary business 'Kangarilla Drilling'. The question before them was what to do with the bare land? She already had a strong passion for red wine, so, being in one of Australia’s finest vineyard and winemaking regions, the decision was easy. A vineyard was established in July 1997 and a five-year contract signed with Geoff Merrill, one of the country’s leading winemakers, but their long-term desire was to create their own label.