From humble beginings
Moving his family in 1949 to a mix-use farm in Clare, Peter McNicol Mitchell worked the land with a dairy, orchard and a small underdeveloped patch of vineyard. Days were long and Mitchell family didn’t have the luxury of modern technology or machinery to streamline the farming and viticulture processes.
Peter McNicol Mitchell’s son, Andrew, grew up experiencing the highs and lows of farm life firsthand, the perfect seasons that grew full and healthy vines and the summers with long, hard droughts. With farming and viticulture in his blood, Andrew Mitchell was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. In 1975 he took over the family farm, establishing Mitchell Wines and continuing in his father’s legacy.
Andrew grasped the traditional methods implemented by his father while throwing himself into learning the ins and outs of both traditional and modern winemaking. His studies took him around the world, learning about different techniques, styles and approaches, feeding his insatiable appetite for knowledge. He implemented his newfound learning’s to Mitchell wines and with his wife, Jane, by his side; they became a recognised and highly respected duo in the South Australian wine industry.
Our family Ethos
We are wine enthusiasts, committed innovators and connoisseurs, dedicated to the art of winemaking.
Mitchell wines has been guided by three generations of passionate winemakers. From Peter McNicol Mitchell’s modest beginnings, to Andrew and Jane’s business nous and passion for winemaking that they now share with the next generation of Mitchell Wines, their three children, Hilary, Angus and Edwina.
From a young age, Andrew and Jane shared their love for the industry, their respect for the land and their vast knowledge of winemaking. Their children grew up in a home where viticulture and wine talk was a nightly point of conversation at the dinner table and working in the vineyards and winery was the Mitchell’s version of a rite of passage.
With three vastly different personalities, the three children followed in their parents’ footsteps, travelling the world, learning and experiencing the different approaches to wine. After years of gaining experience across the globe, Hilary, Angus and Edwina have grown into their own distinct roles within the business, evolving Mitchell Wines into a new generation of winemaking.
Always looking forward
Under Andrew and Jane Mitchell’s watchful eyes, the business has grown to include 80 hectares under vine, a winery and a bottling facility. With their three children, Hilary, Angus and Edwina learning the ropes, they bring new and innovative ideas to the table, ensuring Mitchell Wines continues to grow and flourish under a new era of management.
While the family continues to reflect and learn from the experience and knowledge of Peter McNicol Mitchell, they place great importance on innovating into the future of winemaking and continually improving their wines and methods. Implementing sustainable practices at every opportunity, dry-grown vineyards have ensured responsible water conservation, while eliminating the use of artificial herbicides and pesticides has encouraged biodiversity to promotes intense flavours and characteristics in the grapes. The rich soils and vineyards full of life harvest rich flavours and a vibrant energy that is present throughout the entire Mitchell Wines portfolio.
Since the beginning, we’ve always believed that to make great wine you need great vineyards. And we’ve worked to implement this at every opportunity; spending years perfecting our methods and approach to amplify the unique characteristics that can only be found in the beautiful region that we call home; Clare Valley.
It was just over 10 years ago that we converted all our farming practices back to those that our grandfather, Peter McNicol Mitchell had originally implemented when he first established the vineyards. This eliminated the use of all artificial herbicides and pesticides, and we haven’t looked back since. Ten years on and we have continued to employ sustainable practices at every opportunity. This has resulted in rich soils and vineyards that are full of life, harvesting powerful flavours and a vibrant energy that is present in all our wines.
We have three key vineyards in Clare Valley that range in altitude from 300 to 450 metres; the Sevenhill Vineyard, Alcatraz Vineyard and Growers Vineyard.
Sevenhill Vineyard
The Sevenhill Vineyard is where it all began back in 1949 when Peter McNicol purchased the family farm. The land, formerly an orchard, has been used to grow fruit for more than 100 years, but it was only in 1982 that the vineyard was established. High up in the western hills of the Clare Valley, rolling hills provide elevation of 430m – 480m with the surrounding stony quartzite hillside covered by native bush land.
The Sevenhill Vineyard surrounds our winery, cellar door and homestead and is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon and Gruner Veltliner vines as well as being home to the McNicol Shiraz and McNicol Riesling vines.
Alcatraz Vineyard
The Alcatraz Vineyard was planted in 1962 by Peter McNicol Mitchell and is made up of 10 hectares of Riesling, 7 hectares of Shiraz and 1.5 hectares of Semillon. These old vines are grown on red loam over limestone soils with an east-facing slope that receives the gentle morning sun and is sheltered from the direct sun in the heat of the afternoon.
These vines sit at an elevation between 390m – 410 and have always been dry grown, hand pruned and hand-picked. No artificial fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides have ever been used in growing these grapes, largely contributing to why this vineyard produces award-winning quality wines year-on-year.
Growers Vineyard
Established in 1960, this vineyard sits on red loam over limestone in the Watervale region, where growing conditions for Riesling is near-on textbook style.
Our Growers Vineyard is made up of 9 hectares of Riesling vines and a smaller 1.5 hectares of Semillon vines with an elevation between 345m – 380m.
We are committed to implementing sustainable practices at every opportunity to ensure we continue growing and crafting Mitchell wines from the Clare Valley and surrounding regions for generations to come.
Our dry-grown vineyards ensure responsible water conservation while the removal of all artificial herbicides and pesticides ten years ago has encouraged biodiversity across the board. This resulted in rich soils and vineyards full of life.
We are dedicated to preserving the natural characteristics of the fruit produced from these vines, promoting the rich flavours and a vibrant energy that is present throughout the entire Mitchell Wines portfolio.
Our dedication to our vineyards and implementing sustainable winemaking practices is what has put us on the map for our exclusive range of high-quality table wines. Our red wines are intensely flavoured, well-structured and long living, while our white wines are fresh, aromatic and delightfully approachable.
