Description
About Geoff Merrill Wines
Established in 1980 at the historic Mount Hurtle winery, Geoff Merrill Wines is a family-owned premium wine producer specialising in aged releases.
Showcasing wines with fruit sourced from premium McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Clare Valley vineyards, Geoff Merrill and head winemaker Scott Heinrich carefully select fruit to create wines following the ethos of ‘The perfect balance.’
Known by the Woodcroft locals for its roaming gaggle of geese, picturesque terrace and striking original barn façade, the heritage listed Mount Hurtle site is a working winery and cellar door.
Most recently, Geoff Merrill Wines has received accolades for the modern ‘by Merrill’ range, a carefully curated ‘drink now’ selection with a wine for every occasion.
Today, Mount Hurtle Winery is an oasis among suburbia, nestled amid 4 acres of vineyards and landscaped gardens. With an almost Tuscan charm, the original winery and 1500m² barrel maturation cellar (completed in 1998) is now perfectly equipped to cope with the rigors of modern winemaking. A large family of geese and ducks also inhabit the winery grounds, especially the dam near the front entrance of the estate.
About Geoff Merrill Wines
At the heart of the Geoff Merrill philosophy is balance, and the desire to make aged wines more accessible to all wine drinkers. A good bottle of wine is a gift to be shared in celebration for all occasions, sparking joy, bringing friends together and creating collective memories.
As we maintain and grow our domestic and international markets, we celebrate our heritage by passing on our stories, telling tales of Geoff Merrill the man, and Geoff Merrill the family winery, while sharing our balanced, age-worthy South Australian wine.
Geoff Merrill, The Man
Young Geoff Merrill was raised on a sheep station in the far north of South Australia, until his family moved to the Barossa Valley in 1964 when Geoff was just 11 years old. Unsurprisingly, this is where Geoff’s links with the wine industry were first forged.
At age 17, Geoff joined B Seppelt & Son where he embarked on a 4 year winemaking traineeship. Following this, he was lured to South Africa in 1974 with the opportunity to work as an Experimental Winemaker with Stellenbosch Farmers Winery, after which he set off to explore Europe.
Returning to Australia in late 1975, Geoff joined Chateau Reynella as Assistant Winemaker and was promoted to Senior Winemaker just 2 years later. He held this position until 1985 when he became a Consultant Winemaker for Thomas Hardy & Sons, who bought Chateau Reynella in 1982.
