Around the globe and back

The world-famous Barossa wine region thrives on tradition and community. It’s where families still grow their own vegetables and smoke their own meats. For five generations, Ben Radford’s family have been part of this identity, growing grapes and working the soils. His father was one of the region’s best-known viticultural advisors. And while Ben grew up a part of the Barossa’s close-knit community, he also wanted to see the world. So he spent 12 years working in international wine regions. 

Ben moved from the vineyard to the winery, and worked as a winemaker in France’s Burgundy and Rhône regions, and the Niagara Peninsula in Canada. He got to know a wide variety of grapes and wine styles, and eventually ended up as Head Winemaker for the Longridge/Winecorp group in Stellenbosch, South Africa, where he helped grow the group into one of the most highly respected in the country. 

It was there that Ben met his wife, Gill, who was studying to be a chef at the Institute of Culinary Arts, and together they planned to set up a winery in South Africa. But the more time Ben spent overseas, the more he recognised how unique the Barossa was – and when a property in the Barossa’s Eden Valley became available, the couple’s plans quickly changed. Home to old Riesling vines planted in the 1930s, it became the site of their new life and wine label, Radford Wines. But Ben was about to be thrown a curveball. 

Taking the reins of an icon

After moving to their new Eden Valley home in 2002, Ben and Gill grew their Radford Wines label, becoming an integral part of the Barossa community. But in 2006, an opportunity opened up for Ben to work at Rockford, a highly renowned boutique winery making traditional wines from some of the best old vineyards in the area. Ben had grown up with the kids of Rockford’s founder, Robert O’Callaghan, and quickly felt at home, becoming Robert’s right-hand man. With Ben’s focus turned to Rockford, Gill took on chief winemaking duties back at Radford Wines. And in 2012, Ben took over the day-to-day running of Rockford as Managing Director. 

Working alongside Robert, Ben has been steadily improving the wines. But he’s also fiercely protective of Rockford’s original vision and traditional methods. Wines are handcrafted in almost the same way they were made a hundred years ago, using traditional machinery such as the basket press, which is used to extract juice from the grapes. 

For Ben, using age-old methods and equipment isn’t just about charm and nostalgia. It’s about producing distinctive, down-to-earth and delicious wines. The Rockford team take a minimal-intervention approach in the winery and farm their vineyards using organic and biodynamic practices. They still sell most of their wines through the cellar door and mailing list, connecting directly with their devoted customers. Thanks to Ben, Rockford wines have never been better. And in the process, he’s helping to maintain the grape-growing and winemaking traditions of one of the world’s great food and wine regions. 

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