Torbreck Vintners
"Wines that are all about Scottish sites and provenance."
Torbreck Vintners family winery
Buy wines from Torbreck Vintners
Founded in 1994 by Dave Powell, the Torbreck winery in Australia's Barossa Valley is one of the continent's best-known. Above all, it stands for the preservation of a unique heritage of vines up to 170 years old. Torbreck produces great wines from old, so-called ancestor vines and has gradually expanded its portfolio in an impressive way over time.
Robert Parker has aptly described Torbreck's wines: „Torbreck wines are eloquent examples of modern-styled Australian reds and whites, capturing the greatest of the Barossa Valley's ancient vineyards with a sense of fruit purity and balance. The spectacular current and future wines are some of the most exciting wines produced on planet earth!“. Chris Ringland, a friend of Dave Powell and one of Australia's undisputed best oenologists, is largely responsible for the quality of the wines. The wines became known worldwide as early as 1997 and are now cult wines in Australia.
The winery is named after a forest in Scotland where the young Dave Powell worked as a lumberjack. The wines are made in the style of the Rhône Valley, mostly as cuvées from Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, known as Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro in Australia, as well as Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne for the white wines.
Since 2008, the winery has been owned by Peter Kight, the owner of Quivira Winery in Sonoma County, California. Powell left the winery in 2013. In 2016, Barossa winemaker Ian Hongell was appointed Chief Winemaker and later General Manager. In 2024, Torbreck completed the renovation of Hillside Vineyards and the associated heritage-listed winery buildings dating back to the 1860s. Torbreck, whose wines are all based on Scottish sites and provenance, thus remains true to the care of old vineyards and buildings from the first heyday of Australian viticulture.
© Photos: Torbreck Vintners
