Irvine Wines OnLine Wine Shop

Who or What is Irvine?

In 1959, when young James Irvine was buying grapes in the Eden Valley for the famous "Siegersdorf" Riesling brand he was developing for Hardy's, he dreamt of one day being able to plant his own vineyard up there high in the ranges above the Barossa Valley.

Some 20 years later, that dream became a reality when, as is his wont, he took a chance and bought the Springhill property and established his first plantings. Today, Jim Irvine, his wife and business partner Marjorie and their winemaker daughter Joanne live and work from Springhill, an idyllic setting surrounded by vines, pasture and gum trees, and the Irvine range of wines are garnering an international reputation for excellence.

The marketing brains behind this state's tourism industry are currently exhorting visitors to discover the"Secrets of South Australia". How many of them realise that in Irvine, SA has one of the world's best kept secrets, at least in wine terms.

This year, Jim is celebrating an astonishing 50 years in the wine industry and there's not much he hasn't done in that time. Vat washing, viticulture, sales, marketing, managing, consultancy, lecturing, public relations and of course, winemaking, have all been covered in depth.

Landmarks along the way included the development of Siegersdorf in the 50's and 60's, the building of the Krondorf name in the 70's and the establishment of his own widely respected wine making consultancy in the 80's. He's worked for Australian names like Glenloth, Hardy's, Krondorf, Seagram and Normans, had spells abroard, including Champagne, and continues to help a raft of top Barossa wineries in his consultancy role.

But after so many years of making wines for other people and of keeping what is for this industry an unusually low profile, it's with his own wines that Jim Irvine is making his biggest mark,especially with Merlot. The grape is something of a rarity elsewhere in the Barossa and in Australia as a whole, but Jim has made Merlot and it's conversion to a great super premium deluxe wine style his passion.

The 10th vintage of the flagship, Irvine Grand Merlot, has just been released to much acclaim and stocks, as they always do, are bound to sell out swiftly. In addition, there's a Merlot and a Merlot Cabernet blend under the Eden Crest label, and a revered Merlot Brut sparkling.

These and all the Irvine wines are grown and made with love and understanding by Jim, with input from Joanne as the all important next generation, while Majorie designs the labels and packaging - it's a real family affair and it's how Jim likes it.

"Life is full of surprises and sometimes dreams do come true," he says. "Our dream has indeed come true with magnificent Merlot and great timing."