Celebrating 170 years of winemaking in style

Sevenhill Cellars, the founding winery of the Clare Valley, celebrated its 170th birthday this weekend with a party, a new-look label, a new range and a new direction.

Established in 1851 by Jesuits escaping persecution in Europe, Sevenhill has for decades been a quiet achiever in the Clare region. 

It has a fascinating history, compelling cellar door experiences and maintains its Jesuit links. The first seven winemakers at Sevenhill were all Jesuits. 

With a dynamic new general manager in Jonathan O’Neill, and experienced winemaker Will Shield on board - joining a team including two decades plus of viticultural experience in Craig Richards - Sevenhill is being propelled into the modern era. 

Religious labels and some old-fashioned styles are standing aside for exciting new modern branding.

The Sevenhill fruit has always been high quality - with grapes sold to Penfolds for wines including Grange and St Henri - and now there is a look to match. 

The entry level Inigo range and the premium new Sevenhill range feature a journey line over 170 years to the current vintage, linked by what appears to be a vine tendril. The designs are by Scott Carsdale and his team at Voice Design in Adelaide. 

The Inigo range ($25-$28, above) comprises a vibrant 2021 Riesling; a 2021 Pinot Gris; savoury 2019 Barbera; smooth and stylish 2019 Merlot; 2019 Shiraz and 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The riesling, barbera and merlot all offer excellent value, and all but the pinot gris are estate grown. 

The new Sevenhill range (below) consists of a 2021 27 Miles Riesling, 2020 Spire’s Lament Viognier, 2020 Open Range Grenache, 2020 Thatch and Clay Touriga and the 2019 Quarry Road Cabernet Malbec: all retail for $45-$50 except the greanche - made from 100-year-old vines - which comes in at $80 but offers a special experience. 

The grenache and the touriga were my standouts with the riesling potentially very long lived. 

Birthday party guests also got to try gems including the 2005 St Aloysius Riesling, a Classic Topaque and a Fine Old Tawny. 

Readers of this blog can sample the new releases with a very generous 20% discount by using the code 170Years with their online or cellar door orders before the end of the month. 

“It is a very exciting time for Sevenhill,” says GM O’Neill. “We’ve been a sleeper but are ready to move into the future. The fruit is on our doorstep and we are ready to spread the word about the strides we have made. 

“We hope the new Sevenhill range will change perceptions about our wines. We have small parcels of premium fruit, new labels, and are showcasing some different varieties.”

Experienced winemaker Shields (above) echoes those thoughts. 

“We are now making small-batch contemporary styles along with the more traditional styles or which Sevenhill is best known,” he says. 

To find more details, or order with the discount, visit www.sevenhill.com.au. But be quick. 

Farewell to a winemaker of distinction

Brother John May SJ AM, the long-serving winemaker at Sevenhill Cellars in the Clare Valley, died in August, aged 92. 

He was the seventh and final Jesuit winemaker at Sevenhill, a position he held from 1972 until his retirement from full-time work in 2003. The winery was established is 1851 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order commonly known as the Jesuits.

I met him once and he was a very nice man - extremely dignified. 

“John’s engagement across the cellars, St Aloysius’ Church, and in later years the on-site retreat centre characterised Br John’s deep commitment to an active, but contemplative and devotional, faith,” said Jesuit Provincial Father Quyen Vu SJ.

“John was so committed as a Jesuit to his mission in winemaking, which was unexpectedly entrusted to him.”

Born in Sydney in 1929, as a child Brother John was an altar boy at the Jesuit-run St Mary’s Church, North Sydney. After finishing school, he took up a carpentry and joinery apprenticeship. 

Following work in the building industry, he joined the Jesuits in 1949 at Loyola College, Watsonia, in Victoria. 

He spent the next 14 years there, performing various tasks and learning new skills through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

His first assignment to the Jesuit winery at Sevenhill began in 1963, when he was sent to work with Brother John Hanlon SJ. He was there for seven years.

It was Brother Hanlon’s sudden death in 1972 that led to his recall to Sevenhill. 

After arriving, he asked that the interim appointment be made permanent to ensure the winery would survive. 

Returning to Sevenhill as winemaker, without any formal qualifications, he relied on his gifts with his hands and the fact that, in his words, he had spent his previous period there “with eyes and ears open.”

Over time he took courses in laboratory and cellar procedures at winemaking schools and was assisted by the local community of winemakers in the Clare Valley as he honed his craft. 

He led the expansion of the Sevenhill vineyards, using the best clones of varieties suitable to the Clare Valley, and production grew from 80 tonnes to 500 tonnes per year by 1990.

Sevenhill’s sacramental wine distribution expanded across Australia to countries throughout south-east Asia. The range of table wines was developed, and a cellar door established, attracting up to 40,000 visitors per year.

He was a member of a range of industry and community groups, including the Clare Valley Winemakers Association.

“This service to winemaking and the local community has been widely recognised,” said Jonathan O’Neill, the general manager of Sevenhill Cellars.

“Brother John was inducted into the Clare Valley Hall of Fame in 2014; received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2016 and became a lifetime member of the Winemakers Federation in 2004.

“What he would have been most proud of is what he did for the local community. John May was a great man, one of the truly great gentlemen of the Australian wine industry and community, who will be sorely missed.”

Details unveiled for a 170th wine birthday party to remember

One of the most historic wineries in Australia will be celebrating its 170th birthday this weekend. 

Sevenhill Cellars can date its history back to 1848, when a Jesuit priest fleeing persecution in Europe - Father Aloysius Kranewitter - landed in Adelaide and then headed north with a group of over 100 German and Silesian migrants.

Amid the rolling hills of the Clare Valley they decided to settle and, after purchasing 100 acres of land in 1849, the young priest named the property Sevenhill in honour of the seven hills of Rome.

The creation of gardens and orchards were prioritised along with the building of basic accommodation and the first grapevines were planted in 1851.

Just five years later and the first wines of Sevenhill were produced and, in 1858, went on to win first prize at the Auburn Agricultural Exhibition.

The first of many firsts for the Clare Valley’s first winery.

Until very recently, seven generations of Jesuits made the wine at Sevenhill. The most recent was the late Brother John May, whose wine career began when he arrived in the Clare Valley in 1963. 

Brother May’s contribution to the wine industry was recognised as one of the initial inductees to the Clare Valley Wine Hall of Fame in 2014 and with life membership of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia in 2004. 

Sevenhill Cellars began a new winemaking chapter in January 2019 with the appointment of Will Shields, with experience in the Hunter Valley, Margaret River, and New Zealand as well as at Kirrihill in the Clare. 

He says his aim is to make "balanced, elegant wines." 

Sevenhill  is throwing its doors open to friends, families of Sevenhill Cellars and the Clare Valley community on Sunday, September 19. 

Tuck into some locally produced food by Auburn Smoke House Catering Co including gourmet burgers and chicken bao buns, and kid-friendly options. 

Food and wine will be available for purchase with live music by Caitlin Drew along with lots of free activities such as mini golf and games on our lawns and face painting. 

Entry is free. 

Other birthday events include the 170th Launch Party with a launch of a new range of premium wines, Coffin Bay oysters and locally produced Middle Eastern morsels along with live music from Courteney Hooper and a special long lunch on the Saturday. 

These are all ticketed events. Visit www.sevenhill.com.au/sevenhill to secure your spots.