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Winemaking

Visit our winery at:

7093 Horrocks Highway
Leasingham
South Australia 5452

A tight-knit team handcraft your favourites at our owner-operated winery in the Clare Valley, South Australia.

David O’Leary and Nick Walker head the team at our Leasingham winery and cellar door, alongside a talented young team including Nick's son Jack – the fourth generation in a line of Walker winemakers.

All our wines are purpose-made from individual vineyards, carefully selected from specific regions to produce wines of great quality that reflect their true origin. Vineyard site selection is critical to producing wines with depth, character and regional personality.

Clare Valley Rieslings are world class and their international reputation has been earned through consistent quality over many decades. Many of our Watervale vineyards are 'dry grown' and self-regulating, meaning they are in balance with nature, producing modest crops of high quality and ensuring survival throughout seasonal variations.

The cooler elevated slopes of the Adelaide Hills produce outstanding Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and the O’Leary’s were among the first to recognise the potential of this now blossoming region.

David and Nick spent more than 20 vintages working for some of Australia’s elite winemaking companies, which provided fantastic learning environments, and David and Nick were privileged to have worked with some of the industry’s greats. Both have always been fascinated by the influence of oak and the variation between cooperages, and so O’Leary Walker Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are exclusively matured in French oak from famous oak houses like Sirugue and Dargaud and Jaegle.

We also embrace modern technology with the use of tank presses for white and red pressing, but still rely on traditional two and four tonne open fermenters, which are ideal for closely following the progress of fermentation and assessing the quality of fruit received. Gentle hand-plunging and control of temperature also allow us to maximise the colour and flavour extraction.

Every vintage gives us the opportunity to experiment with new technologies, which have given rise to styles more typical of European regions, like our Fully Worked Sauvignon Blanc and Drs' Cut Reserve Riesling. The winemaking process is very dynamic; the way we make wine today is different to how it was crafted 30 years ago, and we continue to relish the opportunities the future brings.


About Our Winemakers