John Davey, Winemaker/Viticulturist/Owner

Winemaker John Davey handcrafts his wines from vine to bottle selecting a small percentage of his family's finest estate-grown grapes each vintage. He describes himself as a “minimalist winemaker” who seeks to capture the true character of the McLaren Vale by avoiding excessive manipulation and treating wines gently from fermentation through aging.

A graduate of South Australia's Roseworthy College with a degree in enology, John worked for 15 years as a winemaker in Australia including the Barossa, Langhorne Creek and Yarra Valley. In 1995 he returned home to the McLaren Vale to join his brother Kym for the planting of the Davey Family Vineyard, named after their maternal grandfather, on property the family had owned for five decades.

Red Knot, from South Australia, was first introduced with the 2002 vintage and has won significant acclaim since. As chief winemaker of Red Knot wines, John Davey credits the vineyard with the success. "When you own your own vineyard and make your own wines, you manage the site right down to the individual vine," John explains. "Our goal is to produce superior fruit that will make rich, ripe and complex wines, typical of the McLaren Vale. Small batch open fermentation and minimal handling help to express the terroir of the region, allowing the essence of the grape to shine through."

John and his wife Kate and their three children live in Coromandel Valley near the vineyard.

Dan Hills, Winemaker

John brought fellow McLaren Vale winemaker, Dan Hills, to the team in 2004 to assist him with winemaking. A native of England, Hills came to Australia in 1994 to study winemaking at the University of Adelaide's Roseworthy campus. After earning his enology degree with honors, he worked at South Australia's Primo Estate Wines before joining Fox Creek as chief winemaker in 1997. Under his tenure, Fox Creek earned numerous trophy awards and in 2003 Hills was crowned “Bushing King” at the McLaren Vale Wine Show, a coveted title given to the vintner producing the top wine at the annual competition. With his commitment to quality, Dan is a valued asset to the Davey Family.


John Davey and Dan Hills, winemakers