Glaetzer Winery

Australia

A boutique winery producing super-premium wines

Founded in 1995 by Colin Glaetzer, the winery released its first wines a year later. Glaetzer Winery is a small, boutique winery producing super-premium wines that are emblematic of the Barossa Valley, Australia.

Its fruit comes from a small sub region of the Barossa Valley, aptly called Ebenezer. These vineyards are dry-farmed and constitute an important aspect of Australia’s winemaking heritage that dates back more than a century and a half. Many are old-vine plantings (80-110 years old) and are exceptionally low yielding plants, some producing as low as one-quarter ton per acre.

Each and every wine selected for our six different Wine Clubs meets our strict guidelines for quality and rating criteria. Each wine is handcrafted by an authentic, small-production boutique winery with a compelling story to tell like the one above. Since our first Gold Wine Club shipment in 1992, we have added five more impressive Wine Clubs to choose from—each a showcase for highly-rated, sought-after wines you can enjoy as a Gold Medal, wine of the month club member.

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Ben Glaetzer - Winemaker

Born in 1977 in New South Wales, Ben Glaetzer hails from a winemaking family. His father, Colin, was fortified and sparkling winemaker for giant Seppelts before moving to the Barossa Valley. Colin Glaetzer next became winemaker for Barossa Valley Estate where his son Ben starting working in the cellar at age 10.

Ben attended Prince Alfred College and the University of Adelaide and gained a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with an Oenology major at age 19. He immediately went to work for Tyrell’s Vineyards in Australia’s Hunter Valley. He ascended to a position of consultant to industry giant Pernod Ricard, where he was responsible for all of Tyrell’s wines from various parts of Australia.

Today Ben Glaetzer serves as a winemaker for a number of successful wineries in both the Barossa Valley and nearby McLaren Vale. Wine guru Robert Parker chose Ben Glaetzer as his Wine Personality of the Year for 2005. He is also the winemaker for another of this International Series' wines, the Flegenheimer Bros.' 2010 Reserve Red.

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Barossa Valley, South Australia

Also located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is found some 35 miles northeast of Adelaide. The Barossa Valley was formed by the North Para River and derives its name from the Barossa Ranges that dominate the region. The Barossa Valley is inhabited mostly by people of German and British heritage, most of whom settled the area in the mid-19th Century. The word Barossa was actually meant to honor the British victory over France at the Battle of Barrosa in 1811, but was misspelled due to a clerical error. It has remained Barossa ever since.

Once again, the venerable Shiraz is the principal grape grown in the Barossa Valley. Many of the top Australian wine companies are located here. Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Yalumba and a number of others have extensive holdings in the Barossa Valley.

The generally hot climate of the valley mostly produces very ripe fruit that contains high levels of sugars and low levels of acids. A large amount of American oak is used by Barossa’s winemakers in deference to French Oak that is used universally throughout Australia.