Chris’s great great grandfather was John Jacob, who with his brother William surveyed the Barossa Valley region in South Australia and settled on a property called Jacob’s Creek, which has become a very famous name in the Australian and world wine industry. The history of John and William can be explored at the Jacob’s Creek Visitor centre in the Barossa. We have also collected some family history which can be viewed in our cellar door.

Few pleasures are more gratifying than pouring a glass of fine wine, admiring its clarity and colour, savouring its bouquet, raising it to your lips and knowing that you bottled it yourself.

More recently, Chris became very interested in the wine industry during his time in Armidale NSW where Chris was doing his PhD. He attended the Upper Hunter Wine Festival and went on several university excursions. That was where he fell in love with the idea of establishing their own vineyard and eventually their own winery. On returning to Bridgetown he established his first vines in 1985 and continued planting until 1990. His first wine was a Shiraz made in 1986 from a friend’s grapes. This wine was good enough to really ignite their passion for the industry and it has continued to grow ever since.

Shedley Wines obtained a producer’s license in 1992 when he made his first commercial red wine, but only made fairly small quantities until he established his new winery in 2000. Most of the grapes up until that time had been sold to Lauren Brook Winery in Bridgetown where Steve Bullied made some award winning wines. From 2000 on Chris has used his own red grapes to make a series of distinctive red wines and some excellent full bodied white wines. Sauvignon blanc grapes were in high demand during that period and the grapes from several vintages were sold to prominent Margaret River wineries, who were very enthusiastic about the quality.

Chris Shedley will explain the process involved in producing wine, from growing the grapes to choosing a barrel that is ready to bottle. He will guide you in the practice of bottling the selected wine.You can then purchase the wine at a heavily reduced price.

Mark is developing a new enterprise based on our grapes from our vineyard. In 2008 and 2009 Chris and Mark made some trial batches of sparkling, non alcoholic grape juice. This product has been so popular that Mark is setting up a new business to manufacture and market the product.

So get a group of friends, family or work mates together and enjoy a weekend in beautiful Bridgetown.  Shedley Wines can assist with accommodation options, dining suggestions and a variety of  activities that are available in the region while you are here.