The Grapevine: Wine industry updates from South Australia
In this edition of The Grapevine: an SA wine delegation lands in North America and a spotlight on wine label Purple Soul. Plus the latest wine industry events.
- Delegation to North America to spruik SA wine
- Best of Wine Tourism Awards winners
- Wine South Australia unveils new brand identity
- Seppeltsfield comes out on top at Barossa Wine Show
- Jim Barry Wines to ‘pour it forward’
- Winemaker spotlight: Purple Soul
- Cabernets stand out at Clare Valley Wine Show
- Oxford Landing picks up Best Sustainable Wine trophy
Delegation to North America to spruik SA wine
Trade and Investment Minister Joe Szakacs is currently on the ground in North America leading a team working to continue building on skyrocketing wine exports in Canada and the United States in the wake of tariff turmoil sparked by US President Donald Trump.
SA Wine exports were already seeing exponential growth in global markets like Canada where American wines were “being ripped off shelves” and replaced by SA wine in the wake of massive tariffs whacked onto the United State’s neighbours products.
August figures showed SA sold more than a million dollars of wine in the Canadian province of Ontario in just one month and Canada had rocketed up SA rankings from being 18th to the state’s fifth largest export partner.
Representatives from several prominent SA wineries were travelling with the Minister, backed by the $3.9 million Global Wine Growth Program.
The delegation – including Angove Family Winemakers, Mollydooker Wines, South Australia Wine Industry Association, Treasury Wine Estates, Taylors Wines, Wirra Wirra, Ashton Hills, Zonte’s Footstep and Vinarchy – were meeting with a mix of high-level government and private wine category buyers while in market.
While there, the new Wine South Australia brand (read more below) was on full display, at events such as a tasting activation at the Canadian government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s (LCBO) flagship Toronto store.
The state government hoped to help more winemakers tap into that market after the LCBO made the decision to remove US products from its shelves.
After that decision, a state government-backed market activation with the retailer resulted in $1.3 million in SA wine sales in just four weeks.
Szakacs said the government was “committed to working closely with our wine industry to achieve continued growth”.
“Through this trade mission we’re looking to deliver better outcomes and future opportunities for the industry and for our state,” he said.
Best of Wine Tourism Awards winners
Wineries have been recognised for their tourism offerings as part of the 2026 Best of Wine Tourism Awards.
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Presented at the South Australian Wine Industry Dinner, the awards celebrated innovation in wine tourism.
Winners would now compete for a Global Best of Wine Tourism Award with the winner to be announced at the Great Wine Capitals Gala Dinner in Bordeaux, France, in November.
The winners:
- Accommodation – Mount Lofty House and Estate, Adelaide Hills
- Architecture and Landscape – Vinteloper, Adelaide Hills
- Art and Culture – Wonderground Barossa, Barossa
- Culinary Experiences – Maxwell Wines, McLaren Vale
- Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences – Bottle Shock, Adelaide Hills
- Wine Tourism Services – SA eBikes, McLaren Vale
- Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices – Bottle Shock, Adelaide Hills
Wine South Australia unveils new brand identity
The South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA) has launched Wine South Australia – a new brand to showcase the state’s wine to the world.
SAWIA said the state had lacked a unifying brand until now to tell its story, with the new identity and digital hub to fill that gap.
The new site – www.winesouthaustralia.com – was developed to work with the state’s regional wine region websites and the state’s tourism platforms.
The project was funded by the state government while the creative was developed by agency Simple.
“South Australia produces some of the world’s most recognised and respected wines, but until now we haven’t had a brand or online shopfront to tell our collective story,” SAWIA president Kirsty Balnaves said.
Seppeltsfield comes out on top at Barossa Wine Show
Seppeltsfield Wines was awarded ‘Best Barossa Wine’ for its 2025 Barossa Grenache at the 2025 Barossa Wine Show.
The drop was a standout at the show, also taking home Best Grenache and Best Red Wine.
Hentley Farm also won best shiraz for its 2025 vintage, while Leo Buring won Best White Wine for its 2025 Leonay Riesling.
The inaugural Centenarian Vineyard Wine Trophy – recognising wines made from vines 100 years or older – was also handed out at the show.
The honour went to Saltram Wine Estates for its 2025 Winemakers Selection Semillion.
“We are especially proud to have launched the new Centenarian Vineyard Wine Trophy, recognising vines that have survived droughts, wars and recessions,” Barossa Wine Show Committee Chair Tim Pelquest-Hunt said.
“These rare survivors of history remind us that we are contributing to something far bigger than ourselves.”
Jim Barry Wines to ‘pour it forward’
A Clare Valley winery is raising money for cancer care charity the McGrath Foundation through a campaign with a pairing at its heart.
Jim Barry Wines is pairing its iconic Watervale Riesling with a newly released companion – the 2022 Watervale Shiraz – to support the McGrath Foundation.
From September to November each specially marked bottle sold would see 50 cents contributed to the cancer care charity.
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The winery will also host the ‘Pour it Forward Black-Tie Gala on October 18 to celebrate the campaign.
“We’re incredibly proud to support the McGrath Foundation. The work these nurses do is life-changing, and using our wines to help fund that care means a lot to our entire family,” Jim Barry Wines marketing director Olivia Hoffman-Barry said.
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Winemaker spotlight: Purple Soul
Having arrived in Australia in 2006 with nothing but their bags and an affinity for wine, married couple Jamison Lim and Jenny Lai have turned that enthusiasm into an exciting SA wine brand.
Both have a background in wine, with Lai having studied wine marketing at university, but Lim’s journey to founding the heritage-honouring label was less traditional.
Lim was an accounting student, but was spat out of university in 2008, in the midst of the global financial crisis.
With jobs in his sector scarce, he turned to wine and worked for top wine brands nationally, learning the tricks of the trade.
In 2019, Lim and Lai launched Purple Soul’s first vintage – a Shiraz made from McLaren Vale grapes.
They have since launched a Grenache and a Chardonnay, made from Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills grapes respectively, and chosen for those regions’ specialities.
The brand Purple Soul was chosen to represent the stain of red wine (purple) and the soul being the duo’s “passion and dedication to the wine industry”, according to Lai.
Label names were sourced from Greek mythology, the pair said.
The Chardonnay is called the Sphere of Uranus, the Grenache – made in the style of a Pinot Noir – is called the Harp of Gaea, and the Shiraz is called the Anchor of Oceanus.
All three represent the sky, sea and land, they said.
They were made traditionally too with eating in mind.
“Me and Jenny, we love traditional food,” Lim said.
“It’s the same with our wines – old school wines inspire me, classic, high-alcohol, stronger oaks.”
The pair said they started the brand with export in mind. International exports were now about half of their distribution, with the remainder in Australia.
As for the future, Purple Soul is working with a Hunter Valley winery on a collaborative Chardonnay, to complement their main three drops.
Cabernets stand out at Clare Valley Wine Show
The strength of the Clare Valley wine region’s Cabernets was on full display at the 2025 CCL Clare Valley Wine Show, with judges noting a significant 67 entries for the varietal and its blends.
“Our region is renowned for Riesling, but the show demonstrates that our winemakers are excelling across a wide range of on trend varieties,” Clare Valley Wine and Grape Association executive officer Cherry Stowman said.
At the show, Jim Barry Wines took home the coveted Best Wine of Show for its 2022 Barry & Sons Cabernet, chosen from nearly 400 entries by 51 producers.
Other trophy winners included:
- Best Wine of Show: 2022 Barry & Sons Cabernet
- Wine of Provenance: 2025, 2016, 2013 Clos Clare Riesling
- Best Exhibitor of Show: Jim Barry Wines
- Ben Mitchell Perpetual Trophy, Viticulturist Trophy: Peter Barry
- Best Single Vineyard Wine: 2017 Jim Barry Florita Riesling
- Best Small Producer: Naked Run
Oxford Landing picks up Best Sustainable Wine trophy
Oxford Landing’s 2024 Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz was awarded the Sustainable Wine Growing Australia/Riverland trophy for Best Sustainable Wine at the Riverland Wine Show.
Chair of judges Sarah Pidgeon said the wine “showed great presence of poise, restrained power and ripeness, but with a coil of tannin and fruit that was truly above the rest”.
