The Tim Adams winery is located 130 kilometres north of Adelaide in South Australia’s beautiful Clare Valley.

I began work in the wine industry as a cellarhand at the Stanley Wine Company in February 1975. I progressed to the position of laboratory assistant in 1976, and with encouragement and financial assistance from Mr Mick Knappstein, the then General Manager, I enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, NSW, and began studying by correspondence.

I graduated in 1981, by which time I had been appointed assistant winemaker. The following year I was appointed winemaker, with responsibility for day-to-day operation of the winery, which then employed as many as 60 people.

The first inclination to leave came in 1984, when we were approached by local cooper Bill Wray to form a partnership of the two families to make wine and small oak casks. The first wines under the Adams & Wray label were released in September 1986, by which time I had left the Stanley Wine Company. “Mr Mick” continued to encourage me and to consult at tastings, embracing me as his last apprentice. Thiks relationship continued until his passing away in 1997.

In May 1987 the Adams & Wray partnership was dissolved, and my wife Pam and I took full control of the renamed Tim Adams Wines. In late 1987 we purchased the existing winery site and opened the cellar door in January 1988. We crushed our first grapes on-site several months later.

We’ve come a long way since 1985, when just 10 tonnes of grapes were vinified. The winery now crushes about a thousand tonnes annually — about 850 tonnes for the Tim Adams Wines label, the rest under contract to other Clare labels. The fruit is sourced from eight local growers as well as from one leased vineyard and four of our own vineyards. On our Sheoak Vineyard we grow riesling, semillon, viognier, pinot gris, malbec, tempranillo and shiraz. Our Ladera Vineyard, established in 2004, is planted to pinot gris and tempranillo. On our Bayes vineyard we grow riesling and shiraz as we do on our Ireland’s vineyard along with a small area of mataro.

Principal wines are as per the tasting notes that can be viewed on this site. We focus our attention on making wines exclusively from Clare Valley grapes selected for their authentic varietal and regional characters. These wines can be enjoyed in their youth for their vibrant fruit and fresh flavours, or be cellared for five to 15 years, depending on the wine.

We now have sales throughout Australia and extensive distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Japan. Details can be found in the purchasing section of the site.