Grape growing has been part of the Pfeiffer family way of life for four generations, beginning with Josh & Sam’s great grandfather, Albert Heinrich Pfeiffer, who owned a vineyard in the Riverland region of South Australia. More than 80 years on, Josh & Sam’s father, Martin, continued the tradition at Whistler Wines by planting 5 hectares of Shiraz (Kalimna 3C, 1654 and BVRC30 clones) in 1994. At the time, Martin oversaw the viticulture program for the iconic Penfolds brand, including the now world famous Penfolds ‘Grange’ vineyards. After 28 years with Penfolds, Martin decided to go out on his own and in 1997, Martin's brother, Chris joined the business and enabled further growth of the vineyard, planting another hectare of Shiraz along with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon. In 2001, plantings of Grenache, Mataro and Riesling were added, giving them a total of 15 hectares on their Heysen Estate Vineyard.
Grape growing has been part of the Pfeiffer family way of life for four generations, beginning with Josh & Sam’s great grandfather, Albert Heinrich Pfeiffer, who owned a vineyard in the Riverland region of South Australia. More than 80 years on, Josh & Sam’s father, Martin, continued the tradition at Whistler Wines by planting 5 hectares of Shiraz (Kalimna 3C, 1654 and BVRC30 clones) in 1994. At the time, Martin oversaw the viticulture program for the iconic Penfolds brand, including the now world famous Penfolds ‘Grange’ vineyards. After 28 years with Penfolds, Martin decided to go out on his own and in 1997, Martin's brother, Chris joined the business and enabled further growth of the vineyard, planting another hectare of Shiraz along with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon. In 2001, plantings of Grenache, Mataro and Riesling were added, giving them a total of 15 hectares on their Heysen Estate Vineyard.
Today Martin is showing his son’s Josh and Sam the art of grape growing, handing down the knowledge from the previous generations to ensure that the skills learned are not lost.
