OUR PARTNERSHIPS

Adrian has a passion for Ebenezer and premium Shiraz, and he believes that Barossa Shiraz is one of the great regional wine styles of the world with an ever-evolving story of diversity and place.

Adrian has a significant hand to play in producing and showcasing what is possible with Barossa Shiraz.  He now works with over 30 individual winemakers – his ‘partners’ – all producing diverse and distinct examples of Barossa Shiraz.  He has a great relationship with every one of them, and as close-knit, energetic teams, they stretch boundaries and create exceptional flavours and textures, demonstrating there are numerous ways to produce Barossa Shiraz.

Over the years, the Hoffmann family has built trust, transparency, and mutual respect with their partnering winemakers and in some cases, relationships transcend generations. Indicative of this is the fact there are no written contracts between Adrian and his partners, with all agreements settled on a handshake.

“They trust and believe in people, and a handshake means a lot to them.  They have a lovely way of conducting themselves as people”, says Ben Chipman from Tom Foolery.

Adrian believes that healthy relationships come from collaboration, common purpose, and unity.  It’s not about the winemaker telling the grower what to do or vice versa, but equal parts of involvement and decision making.

Adrian is very inclusive at every stage of the process, and there is a constant dialogue about characteristics the winemaker likes.  He always encourages his partners out to the vineyard and listens to their needs, then uses his knowledge of the vineyard to provide the style of grapes they are looking for.

“Adrian has an amazing ability to work with everybody.  I think the interesting thing is that if you look at the styles that are made off the Hoffmann Vineyard, they are so very different.  They vary enormously between Sami-Odi to Two Hands to North Barossa Vintners.  To have a vineyard that traverses so many different styles is quite incredible.  He knows what we are looking for so, therefore, grows the grapes accordingly.  One of Adrian’s great understandings is that these guys are after slightly greener fruit, or after really ripe fruit, and he’ll set the blocks up accordingly,” says Michael Twelthtree from Two Hands.