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Winemaking – Andrew Hardy

The Parker Estate winemaking team is led by Andrew Hardy who has over four decades of experience making wine in Coonawarra. After completing his degree in Oenology he joined Brian Croser at Petaluma in 1982, where for nearly four decades he made wine across a selection of premium growing regions in South Australia.

During this time, he also completed stints in California, Oregon and Bordeaux, and held the reins at Knappstein in the Clare Valley where he also played a pivotal role in the industry’s adoption of the Screwcap closure.

Viticulture – Brett Williams

The man behind the vines is Brett Williams. Growing up in a farming household has given Brett a very hands-on approach to grape growing. He established his first vineyard in the mid-nineties; a beautiful forty-hectare property only five minutes by tractor from Parker Estate.

The Williams Vineyard now acts as the main fruit source for our cool-climate Chardonnay. Having a dedicated and fastidious vineyard manager with the passion and direction to grow the highest quality fruit, means our Parker Estate ‘Abbey’ vineyard has never looked better. 

Cellar Door – Dimity Savage

Our friendly, knowledgeable and passionate cellar door team are the front-line heart and souls of Parker Estate. Cellar Door manager, Dimity Savage, joined us in January 2021. A well-known face in the Coonawarra region, she has a wealth of wine knowledge, vivacious personality and infectious smile to give all of our visitors.

Dimity heads up an incredible team including Georgie Hood and Kirsty Bailey who has been part of the Parker team since the Cellar Door’s opening back in 2001. Our Bailey block of Cabernet Franc at the Cellar’s entrance is named in her honour. They each have amazing knowledge of our wines and the Coonawarra region and take great pride in assuring that all guests to Parker have the most memorable of visits.

Coonawarra

Considered the founder of Coonawarra as a wine region, John Riddoch began planting Shiraz, Cabernet and Pinot Noir vines in 1891. Based on the recommendation of his friend and renowned viticulturist Thomas Hardy, great-great-grandfather of Parker Estate Chief Winemaker Andrew Hardy.

One of Australia’s first and finest cool climate wine regions, the maritime influence of the Southern Ocean exposes the district to even greater cooling due to the seasonal upwelling of dark blue water streams from Antarctica. At 1492 Growing Degree Days (GDD), Coonawarra is slightly cooler than Bordeaux and the Mornington Peninsula, and significantly more so than the Napa Valley and Margaret River regions.

Above all, Coonawarra is known for its 27km long and 2km wide cigar-shaped outcrop of ancient Terra Rossa soils which rest over a hard limestone cap. Below this lies an aquifer which was once an ancient seabed. Today the combination of the aquifer, cool climate and free draining Terra Rossa soils make this unique location ideal for the highest standards of wine-growing.