THE STANDISH WINE CO

Born with Barossa in his blood, the studious work of this publicity-shy winemaker has propelled his wines quietly to the top of the Australian ranks, with his powerful yet detailed Shiraz styles winning fans among wine lovers and collectors alike. Sarah Ahmed reports

- Sarah Ahmed

Pruning is Dan Standish’s favourite part of the winemaking cycle. Rigorous control of bud numbers and yields sets the tone for this Barossa Shiraz specialist, whose ‘off-cuts’ produce Fortnum & Mason’s Barossa Valley Shiraz (£15.50).

With exacting standards for his The Standish Wine Co label, he never uses more than 30% of the barrels, ‘guaranteeing that only the best of the best fruit ends up in the bottle’. So he must have been particularly frustrated that his average yields were down by 55% in 2019 and 70% in 2020. With minuscule allocations in the pipeline, it’s a good time to take a look at Standish’s 2017 and 2018 releases.

Preferring to court growers, not the press (whom Standish has ‘pretty much spent the last 20 years avoiding’), information about The Standish Wine Co is thin on the ground for a producer of his ilk. We met in 2004 at Barossa winery Torbreck, where Standish worked at the time but, until now, we had never discussed his own project.

Standish established his eponymous company in 1999, the same year he joined Torbreck, and just two years after graduating in chemical engineering. Standish is a sixthgeneration Barossan and, at age six, learned to prune vines at his grandfather’s knee. He has taught himself winemaking ‘hands-on’ too – as well as wine appreciation (though he credits his wife Nicole, Australia’s Sommelier of the Year 2001, with having the better palate).

THE STANDISH WINE CO: THE FACTS

Owners Dan & Nicole Standish

Founded 1999

Winery location Light Pass, Barossa Valley

Annual production 12,000-28,000 bottles