"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and likes to see us happy." so said Benjamin Franklin, and Hugh agrees.
Hugh is the fifth generation of the family that planted the first vineyards at Glenelg in 1837, less than one year after European settlement in South Australia. As with all families one is a black sheep and Hugh Hamilton is it. You can expect therefore to enjoy the difference.
The black sheep is the master of a most reprobate flock, with characters such as ‘The Rascal’ Shiraz, ‘The Scallywag’ Unwooded Chardonnay and ‘The Villain’ Cabernet Sauvignon – this is no ordinary line up.
The wines are not ordinary either. There is a fascinating range of very individualistic wines that have great character. Have a look at the range in the “Flock of Wines” section of this web site.
Hugh has a clear vision about the way he sees wines and he produces accordingly.
He is a firm believer in the wine and food experience. Neither is magic. Both are great, especially in the company of good friends and lively conversation.
His wines therefore are eminently drinkable and certainly very “more-ish”; (that means you’ll always come back for the next glass!). These wines are not simple. They have such character and depth of flavour they can become a topic of dinner party conversation on their own.
People
Our show is a family business and we find strength in our family.
Meet the team. [ See right ]
Hugh Hamilton
Five generations of Hamilton winemakers and then there is Hugh. Every family has a black sheep and Hugh is it. Hugh does things his
own way and is responsible for all the unusual grape varieties we have in the ground. He is also responsible for a lot of the nonsense
that goes on around here and his sense of the ridiculous is known to go into full swing after dark whilst consuming generous amounts
of his own product. The one thing that Hugh is serious about is what goes into the bottle and the fact that you are only as good as your
last vintage, irrespective of how many years you have under your belt.
As you would expect from a black sheep, Hugh prefers to remain rather elusive so you never quite know where he will be. In recent years Hugh has become a rather dab hand on the oyster shucking and if you turn up on a Sunday in Oyster season you will find him in the shed shucking up to 150 dozen jumbo oysters for our monthly Oi Oi Oister Day.
Pam Hamilton
It has been said that Pam had the inspiration for naming our delicious Sparkling Merlot 'The Madam' - the t-shirt for 'The Madam' depicts
a female sheep in fishnets with a stock whip in hand. Pam is the boss of the very lively cellar door as well as being the momentum
behind our Oister Days, Fondue Nights, Vat 15 dinners and all the fun parties that happen. In addition to running our Black Sheep Club,
Pam is also in charge of olive products around here, a role she relishes, particularly around harvest time when they have to be hand
beaten from the trees. But for anyone who has tasted her jars of marinated olives or poured her extra virgin oil 'The Vestal' you will
know it is worth her effort.
Mary Hamilton
Mary (Hugh's daughter) joined ostensibly to take some of the load off Hugh's shoulders but has in fact had the opposite effect, creating
more work for him then he ever imagined he wanted.
Mary has a degree in Business Management majoring in Marketing and has spent most of her working career in advertising in Sydney.
Her last position was Worldwide Advertising Director (don't you just love the titles they have in the advertising business) for Southcorp
Wines working for McCann Erickson. As you would expect from advertising types, the first thing she did when she joined us was to change
all the branding - fortunately for her it seems to be paying off. Mary is not just marketing focussed. She also has a great palate and knows
her wines, she is a believer that all the marketing in the world cannot support an ordinary product and is pushing us to strive to make
our wines better and more interesting every year.
Jim Jim
Jim Jim the "downunder dog" is a legend in his own dog bowl. The fact that he has his own page in the hit book 'Wine Dogs' has not gone to his head.
That's insignificant compared to his other achievements. He still defends his vineyard from predatory birds and chases seagulls on the beach
without success, but by far his most important role is helping Hugh select a harvest date for his grapes. Once Jim Jim starts to eat the grapes
Hugh knows its "game on" for the vintage. More importantly, however, Jim Jim now has his own range of wines named, yes, you guessed it…..
Jim Jim. Check out his web site on jimjim.com.
He also has a Myspace page and is always looking for new friends. Log in and become his friend on
myspace.com/thedownunderdog.
Jim Jim has attitude so don't expect him to chase you, but if you become his friend, you'll always be his friend. He has loyalty. And his wines are
excellent too.
Rodney
Rodney is a lover, not a fighter. He's therefore an ideal cellar door ambassador and specializes in looking after children whilst their parents are
inside tasting Hugh's wines. There was time when he was shaded by Jim Jim but he's carved out an important place for himself at Hugh Hamilton
Wines. He's also learned a few things along the way, like keeping out of Jim Jim's way when he has food or Jim Jim will take it. He often heads
for his office which is panelled in genuine French Oak, not surprising since it's a wine barrel with the end taken out. He's learned to like grapes
from Jim Jim but Hugh hasn't given him the responsibility of the vintage just yet. He needs a few more years under his belt. This boy has potential.