Pindarie Wines

Pindarie is a proudly family-owned farm and wine business situated at the gateway to the Barossa Valley. Set across rolling hills, sloping vineyards and open grazing country, the property brings together generations of agricultural history, sustainable land management and a deep connection to the Western Ridge.

The homestead block was originally purchased from the Crown in 1854 by Christian Schoff for £253. It later passed to Friedrich Ehregott Schwarz, who significantly developed the property and built its substantial bluestone homestead during the wool boom of the 1890s.

The Brooks Family

In 1957, the property was purchased by Hector George Brooks, Tony Brooks’ grandfather, who named it Pindarie, described by the winery as an Aboriginal word meaning “hilly place”.

The Brooks family’s connection to South Australian land reaches back to Joseph Brooks, who arrived from Worcestershire, England, aboard the ship Eden in 1838. Joseph planted 5,000 vines at Hoyleton, although a dry winter left only two surviving plants and delayed the family’s vineyard ambitions for several generations.

Tony is now the sixth generation of the Brooks family in Australia, carrying forward a deeply established love of the land, farming and outdoor life.

Tony and Wendy

Husband-and-wife team Tony Brooks and Wendy Allan became the custodians and proprietors of Pindarie Farm after taking over from Tony’s grandfather in 1990.

The 800-acre property includes sheep pastures, vineyards and olive trees that are now more than 120 years old. When Tony and Wendy took responsibility for the farm, it was run-down and heavily cleared, requiring years of determined restoration.

Over the following three decades, they planted more than 15,000 trees and transformed the property into a sustainable, productive and increasingly diverse farming environment.

Farming the Western Ridge

Tony’s passion for sustainable farming and the restoration of historic buildings has shaped the physical character of Pindarie. Wendy brings decades of viticultural experience and a commitment to selecting grape varieties that best express the distinctive soils, slopes and growing conditions of the Western Ridge.

Their approach combines responsible land management with careful vineyard development, allowing the wines to reflect the individuality of the property rather than being separated from the farm that produces them.

A Family-Owned Barossa Experience

Today, Pindarie remains a working farm, vineyard and wine business. Tony and Wendy continue to live in the historic homestead where they raised their three children, maintaining the property as a genuine family home rather than simply a visitor destination.

The carefully restored stables and grain store now form Pindarie’s welcoming cellar door. Surrounded by vineyards, farmland and historic buildings, it has grown into one of the Barossa’s most visited cellar doors while retaining the relaxed character of a family-run property.

Pindarie’s wines are therefore part of a much larger story: generations of land ownership, the restoration of a historic farm and Tony and Wendy’s continuing labour of love.