Meet the makerS

Growing up on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Clare’s interest in horticulture led to work experience at a local winery - whereby, it took just two days for Clare to know she wanted a career in the industry.

Clare Dry

With a thirst for practical experience before commencing tertiary study, Clare worked in wineries on the Mornington Peninsula and in the Pfalz region in Germany before beginning her Bachelor of Oenology (Wine Science) at the University of Adelaide in 2004.

In 2007 Clare joined leading South Australian winery, Wolf Blass as a vintage winemaker. Becoming a permanent winemaker with the company, Clare spent the next 13 years honing her skills and knowledge of the world of wine.

Whilst at Wolf Blass, Clare made both red and white wine varieties and played an instrumental role in crafting premium Chardonnay, a variety she greatly enjoys. Clare has also been actively involved in wine judging at numerous shows since early in her career.

Clare joined Seppelt in November 2020, with a clear focus to continue building on the winery’s exceptional legacy of crafting celebrated still and sparkling wines. The responsibility of making wines for one of Australia’s most historic labels is something Clare relishes, with a passion for upholding and evolving the enviable portfolio of cooler climate Victorian wines.

As with the Seppelt winemaking fraternity that came before her, Clare notes the importance of terroir and regional expression as driving factors behind Seppelt’s success. Having access to some of Victoria’s finest vineyards from the Grampians, Henty and Heathcote regions, she aims to see the personalities of each vineyard block, each vintage, expressed in every bottle of Seppelt.

SEPPELT ST. PETERS GRAMPIANS SHIRAZ 750ML 97 POINTS HUON HOOKE

Released in small quantities and only in exceptional years, St. Peters is Seppelt’s flagship Shiraz, testimony to the distinctive style and pedigree of Grampians Shiraz. The lineage of this iconic wine dates back to 1964, when ‘Great Western Hermitage’, as it was then known, was first made. Since 1998 this wine has been called St. Peters in honour of the first vineyard planted in the region.

Today St. Peters is sourced from the finest and most intense fruit from the best blocks of the Great Western Vineyard. In vintage 2017, this included select parcels of fruit from the Imperial and Arrawatta blocks and is a powerful, seductive expression of Shiraz from the Great Western region. With extraordinary cellaring potential of 50 years or more, this wine is classified ‘outstanding’ by Langton’s in its classification of Australian Wine VI.

Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Chardonnay 750ml 96 Points James Halliday

Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Henty Chardonnay is an expression of purity and balance. Select parcels of Chardonnay are chosen for their intensity of flavor and mineral acid structure.

Seppelt Drumborg vineyard

Traditional winemaking techniques are used, including fermentation in a combination of small and large format French oak followed by maturation on less. The 2021 vintage is a finely structured, yet powerful and iconically regional expression of Chardonnay.

Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz 750ml 94 Points Tyson Stelzer

Since the 1890s, Seppelt has enjoyed a distinguished history of producing Sparkling Shiraz and is a global pioneer of the uniquely Australian wine style. Although there are no precise records, Charles Pierlot from Hans Irvine’s Cellars (known as Seppelt since 1918) experimented with making some of Australia’s first ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ wines, as they were known, in 1892. 125+ years later, this legacy continues, and today Seppelt enjoys a reputation for producing the world’s finest expressions.

Sourced from select vineyards throughout Victoria, Seppelt original Sparkling Shiraz is a superbly balanced wine with vibrant, spicy shiraz fruit and a fine, creamy mousse. Serve chilled.