Adrian Hoffmann
A BEACON FOR BAROSSA GROWERS
As a teenager, Adrian Hoffmann vowed he’d never enter another vineyard. The reluctant farmer is now a leader in his field, growing some of the Barossa Valley’s most in-demand grapes.
A fifth-generation grapegrower, Adrian is the proud custodian of the Hoffmann family vineyards and a tireless advocate for growers in the Barossa. You’d be hard pressed to find someone more passionate about grape growing. But it wasn’t always that way. At one point the family vineyards were nearly sold and Adrian wanted nothing to do with life on the farm.
The reluctant farmer
Adrian was born into a traditional Barossa family that has been working the land since 1857, and growing grapes commercially since the 1880s. They produced some of the most best grapes in the region, and throughout most of the 20th century business was booming. But in the 1970s and 80s, things changed. Wine fashions evolved as consumers developed a taste for aromatic whites in the 70’s and nd cool-climate reds in the 80’s. It was a hard time for growers in the Barossa Valley, which was yet to establish itself as one of the world’s great wine regions.
This was the period in which Adrian grew up. After years of helping in the family vineyard during school holidays, he vowed never to go into a vineyard again. Instead he planned to follow in the footsteps of his father, Jeff, who had an engineering business. With demand for the family’s grapes at an all-time low, Jeff decided to remove some vines and reduce production, and when they still couldn’t sell their grapes, he put the vineyard on the market. Over a century of grape-growing tradition teetered on the edge.
But the family couldn’t find a buyer. And over time, what initially felt like bad luck became good fortune as the world began to rediscover the Barossa Valley’s unique wines. The region’s golden era was around the corner, just as a young Adrian was discovering a new-found passion for viticulture. He learned how to work the land from his grandfather, Gordon, who passed on generations of grape-growing knowledge. Adrian combined these traditional methods with skills he’d learned in his father’s engineering business as well as formal studies in viticulture and a willingness to embrace new tools and technologies.
‘We are blessed with some of the best vineyard land in the region and for me every vine is a piece of art that’s been built up and shaped over many generations.’ – Adrian Hoffmann
Stepping up as a leader
Adrian took over the family business in the early 1990s and since then has expanded the vineyards from 15 to over 100 hectares. He provides grapes to more than 20 wineries and grows Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro, White Frontignac, Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel. But what makes Adrian’s vineyards unique are his old Shiraz vines, some of which are over 100 years old. Adrian’s grapes are among the most sought after in the Barossa. He works closely with winemakers and isn’t afraid to eschew the big one-off pay cheque in favour of developing long-term relationships with carefully chosen wineries who value his fruit as much as he does.
In the early years, Adrian was like many grapegrowers, preferring to quietly do his thing in the background. But several years after taking over the business, he was selected as a Young Ambassador for the Barossa Vintage Festival and travelled to the London Wine Trade Fair. This transformed his outlook as a grapegrower. Adrian realised he was part of the global wine community, and rather than hiding behind the vines, he was inspired to expand his horizons and become a role model and representative for local growers.
Adrian is now a leader in the Barossa Valley wine community. He has been named a Young Citizen of the Year by the Barossa Council and was the first ever winner of the Barossa Young Viticulturist Fellowship Award. He’s a graduate of the wine industry Future Leaders program and was on the board of the Barossa Grape and Wine Association for six years. Adrian is passionate about maintaining his family’s grape-growing traditions and sharing his knowledge to help the Barossa wine community thrive and to promote Barossa wine as some of the best in the world.
