Jim Barry

Certain names resonate strongly within Australian wine history and Jim Barry is one of them. Graduating with a degree in oenology from the prestigious Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1947, Jim was just the 17th qualified winemaker in Australia, and one of the very first working in South Australia’s Clare Valley.

It was his trailblazing efforts that helped shape Clare Valley as a benchmark producer of world class Riesling. And with his flagship red, the Armagh Shiraz, he managed to swim against the tide by producing an ultra-premium Shiraz: the wine was conceptualised when the Australian government was simultaneously giving subsidies to pull out vines.

Founded in 1959, Jim Barry Wines is still family owned, with Jim’s grandchildren Tom, Sam, and Olivia today at the helm, while second-generation Peter Barry remains heavily involved. In recent years, the Barry family has kept Jim's vision alive, and spearheaded a slow evolution to an even purer and more elegant style of winemaking.