ABOUT
The history of Heidenreich
The name Heidenreich is synonomous with grape growing and winemaking in the Barossa Valley. In 1866 my great great grandfather Georg Adam Heidenreich, a Lutheran Minister was sent from Hamburg to the parish of Bethany in the Barossa Valley where he served for 44 years. The first Heidenreich vineyard was planted in Vine Vale by my grandfather Rufus Armein Heidenreich in 1936.
These vineyards are still in production, and still owned and managed by the Heidenreich family.
Liz Heidenreich red wines are made from the family owned, old vines in the Barossa Valley, while my other great passion, Riesling comes from the Clare Valley – subregion Watervale.
As children we helped handpick fruit during harvest season, which should have been a handy picking gang, but we used to muck around.
Winemaker
Liz Heidenreich
After school I completed hospital training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and became a registered nurse. After a career spanning 15 years as an Intensive Care Nurse, I decided to follow in the heritage of my family and commence a career in winemaking, I returned to university and studied a Post Graduate Winemaking degree at The University of Adelaide.
I have done vintages at Wirra Wirra, Wolf Blass, 4 vintages in Portugal in Esporao and Adega do Cantor – Cliff Richards Winery, then worked for Sevenhill for many years before launching my own range of wines. After working in many different winemaking regions, the two regions I call home are the Barossa Valley and the Clare Valley.
I have completed the Australian Wine Research Institute Advanced Sensory Assessment course which is a requirement for show judging. I have been a show judge since 2008 and have judged at many state and regional shows including the Royal Adelaide Wine Show, the Barossa Wine Show, the Clare Valley Wine show, Limestone Coast wine show, Hyatt Advertiser wine awards.
I had an incredible journey designing and building the winery with Peter Teakle from 2019 and working as his Chief Winemaker for eight years. During that time, we achieved significant success with the wines, winning trophies and having them served in many venues across the west coast of South Australia. This transition has given me more time at home in the Clare Valley, caring for our vines, curating new vintage wines, and getting back on the tractor.
