Spinifex Wines

Spinifex Wines owners and operators, Peter Schell and Magali Gely, have had a home in the Barossa Valley for over twenty years and hold a strong commitment to and passion for the Barossa. They also have a strong French connection, both physically and philosophically.

Magali's family, who up until recently were vignerons with a long lineage in Lunel, near Montpellier, still live in south France, and over the last ten years Peter has worked six French vintages, in Provence, the Languedoc, Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Time spent in the south of France has fuelled their interest in making unique, hand crafted wines with personality, which are generous and honest expressions of the varieties and their provenance.

Spinifex Wines grapes are sourced from a group of dedicated growers in both the Barossa and Eden Valleys, taking advantage of the great diversity of the soils and meso-climates of the Barossa to create wines with balance, character, depth of flavour and Barossan generosity.

Winemaker: Peter Schell

Winemaker of the Year 2019 Finalist

Peter Schell’s portfolio of wines may seem random, but his experimentation and careful crafting of alternative varieties has produced drops that will keep you coming back for more.

Peter (or Pete, as he’s universally known) Schell is a man of instinct; exploring possibilities and opportunities with an innate curiosity and intuition. Schell experiments with parcels of fruit, often blending them for some years into his seemingly random portfolio of dangerously drinkable wines before allowing a variety to fly solo.

The Spinifex range is a reflection of the (often minuscule) parcels of fruit that Schell seeks out from both ancient vines and new-wave varieties. Schell finds that these old vines – which have tolerated the rigours of drought and heat – produce fruit of exceptional depth, with the indefinable savoury flavours that set Spinifex apart from the stereotypical Barossa style.