Seppeltsfield Winery

Seppeltsfield, one of Australia's oldest wineries, was founded in 1851 by Joseph Ernst Seppelt. The Seppeltsfield winery is well known for its signature wine, the 100-year-old Para Tawny.HistoryJoseph Ernest Seppelt, a merchant who sold such commodities as tobacco, snuff and liqueurs, emigrated with his family from Prussia (now Poland) to Australia in 1849 to break free from political and economic unrest. He was intent on growing and selling tobacco. In 1850, he and his family settled in Klemzig. After discovering that the land was not suited for such purpose, he and his family decided to settle in the Barossa Valley in 1851.In 1851, Seppelt purchased 158acre of land for about £1 an acre which he called Seppeltsfield. He soon discovered that, as was the case in Klemzig, the land in the Barossa Valley was not suited for growing economically useful tobacco. However, the Seppelts did have success growing wheat on their land and, due to the gold rushes of the 1850s, were able to sell it for high prices due to high demand at the time. With his knowledge of liqueurs gained from his days as a merchant, Seppelt saw there was potential for wine production on his land. Soon thereafter, the Seppelts planted vines that flourished leading to a contribution to the Wines and Spirits category at the Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition in 1866. By 1867, Joseph had begun construction of a full-scale winery, and by 1878, the port store cellar was completed. In 2006, the cellar held about 9 million litres of fortified wine.