Advertisement

Normans Wine Company is one of Australia's oldest and most respected privately owned wine companies with founder Jesse Norman establishing the company first in 1853.

Jesse Norman left his home in Cambridgeshire, England to seek a new life in the colony of South Australia. So at the age of 25 he set sail on the ship Epaminondas arriving in his new home in 1851 where he had purchased 7 acres of land 3 miles west of Adelaide, near the township of New Thebarton, known as the Reedbeds.

Back in Cambridgeshire Jesse had been a brewer, but in the new colony he realised the potential of the rich soil, and planted fruit trees and vegetables, but mainly vines. So in 1853 a small family business was established.

Over the next century Normans Wines continued to operate from Underdale whilst continuing to grow and develop as a company while still family owned and operated by descendents of Jesse. During this time Normans Wines were considered visionaries in the industry they loved, developing vineyards as well as introducing numerous varieties of wines to Australia.

In 1982 the Normans family decided to sell the company to the Horlin-Smith family and under their guidance the Normans operation was moved to Clarendon in the late 80's. It was at this time Normans released it's first vintage of the icon wine Chais Clarendon to great acclaim.

In 1995 Normans became a publicly listed company and continued to grow rapidly and that vintage crushed 13,400 tonnes of grapes and produced 10 million litres of wine, an increase of 30% over the 94 vintage. They sold 580,000 cases of wine that year and 5 million litres of bulk wine.

By 2000 Normans were crushing over 20,000 tonnes of grapes much destined for Normans branded products although some was intended for bulk wine market sales, which had increased importance for Normans at this point.

Normans Wines was owned and operated in the public environment up until 2008 when it was sold to a private buyers. Today Normans Wines operates from the iconic Barossa Valley in South Australia and sells in excess of 50,000 cases per annum both domestically and internationally.

Now over 150 years on Normans is looking to continue its tradition as a industry pioneer and maker of Australian premium wine

Subscribe now - for news and reviews, our newsletter (optional), to join our forums, and more.

Enjoy exclusive experiences and benefits when you visit cellar doors, restaurants, provedores and more. Become a VisitVineyards.com Member today »

Browse