The Standish Wine company was founded in 1999 by Dan Standish. He started at that time with a small, family-owned plot of almost hundred-year-old Shiraz vines in the heart of the Barossa Valley, in the sub-region of Vine Vale. He is part of the sixth generation of immigrants who settled here in 1848. In his career, Dan Standish gained experience not only in his home country, but also in California, Spain and France. He is passionate about the great wines of the Rhône Valley.
His wines all reflect outstanding personalities. They stand out for their complexity, concentration and elegance, and never for excessive opulence or heaviness, as a first glance might have you believe. They all come from authentic roots, literally meaning non-grafted vines, as this region was fortunately spared from the global phylloxera plague. The oldest ones, over a hundred years old, are used for Standish and Relic. The vineyards are all located in the Barossa Valley except for those for the Borne Bollene, which come from the Eden Valley, West of Barossa.
Dan Standish is an advocate of “hands-off and natural winemaking” – a more natural and traditional vinification technique involving little or no intervention. The grapes are crushed by foot and spontaneously fermented with their own yeasts in open wooden fermentation casks. Old basket presses are used to apply a gentle press. The maturation is carried out in used French oak barrels.
Dan Standish is undoubtedly one of the most exceptionally gifted winemakers in Australia, with the ability to elicit a whole universe of aromas from some of the oldest vines on our planet.