Thorpe Wines

Craig and Nicole Thorpe purchased 8ha of land in 1996, mainly to buy a house and shedding to help the expansion of Craig's water-drilling business. Leaving the remainder of the land bare made no sense, and a vineyard was planted in 1997 backed by a 5-year contract with Geoff Merrill. In the lead up to the fifth vintage in 2003, the Thorpes had a chance meeting with Linda Domas who was looking for opportunities after a Flying Winemaking stint overseas (which had followed big company winemaking). Making small quantities of high quality wines for a number of small clients was an opportunity too good to miss. -JAMES HALLIDAY