I spent the bleak, sodden winter of 2002 in the Barossa Valley pruning Torbreck’s Descendant vineyard while waiting to board a plane to France. The frosty mornings gave way to a magnificent summer in Beaujolais, and my first overseas trip was soon to become more significant than I could have imagined. During the harvest of 2002 at Chateau du Bluizard, I met another Australian winemaker, Brian Conway, and over many glasses of Gamay and pastis, we became great mates. After harvest we shared a flight home, and as the sun rose over Australian waters, we decide to create our own winery. Izway Wines was born.
On returning to the Barossa Valley for the the 2003 harvest, I sourced some Shiraz from the famous sub-region of Ebenezer, and we crafted one barrel of wine with no clear direction or philosophy guiding us. This barrel of wine began a journey now twenty-two years old. Just three seasons later we manager to purchase our home property in Seppeltsfield, and in 2015 began building a winery. The modern, purpose build facility was designed with sustainability in mind, with both the cellar door and winery operating completely off-grid. Utilising solar energy and barely storage, if was the first of its kind in the Barossa Valley.
On the same celebrated journey to France in 2002, I also travelled the back roads of Europe with another close friend, Kathryn Horsnell, who would later become the General Manager of Izway, as well as my business partner and wife. In 2018 our family purchased the winery from the Conway family and we started a new chapter in the evolution of Izway Wines.
Izway Wines is committed to crafting beautiful wines that reflect the character of their environment and the natural tendencies of each growing season. We have evolved slowly and organically, humbly beginning with the creation of a single barrel of wine, now the iconic ‘Bruce’ Shiraz. Traditional winemaking techniques such as basket pressing and natural fermentation are utilised, resulting in wines that are not only distinctive and expressive, but also demonstrative of the unique characteristics for which the Barossa Valley is renowned. We rely on personal connections and friendships to promote our wines, and have consciously excluded traditional pathways such as wine shows and media to promote our tiny brand. We hope everyone enjoys drinking our wine as much as we enjoy making them.
