The township of Clare is home to two wineries at opposite ends of the town:
The Knappstein Enterprise Winery, 2 Pioneer Ave, Clare SA (the old Clare Brewery), and
Mr Mick Cellar Door and Kitchen, 7 Dominic St, Clare SA (the old Stanley Winery)
and book-ended by
Jim Barry Wines in the north, and
Tim Adams Wines to the south.
A third original Clare Winery was The Clarevale Cooperative Winery, the buildings of which still survive in Lennon Street Clare across from the Clarevale Cottage, the old Manager's home.
The Knappstein Story
(near the northern bend of the Hutt River in Clare)
1878 Enterprise Brewery Built
Fanny Filgate (daughter of Paddy Gleeson) was an entrepreneurial businesswomen.
She constructed the Enterprise Brewery in August 1878 and was completed early in 1880.
As the copper mining industry took off at Burra, so did Fanny’s beer sales.
1905 Brewery renamed to Clare Brewery
In 1905 the name was changed to Clare Brewery and during that time, the brewery owned no less than fifteen hotels in Clare and the surrounding district. Clare businessman John Christison had bought the business.
Beer was delivered over a wider area including being transported to Broken Hill by rail. John Christison had died, and his wife Di Christison took over.
The brewery was enlarged, the roof of the building lifted, the tower reconstructed, and an elevator fitted in 1913, which enabled 1,000 gallons of beer to be produced daily, 200 hogsheads per week.
Shorter hotel trading hours were introduced in 1916 that led to a drop in sales, and within one year the brewery was closed.
1917 Clare Mineral Waters
In 1917, the brewery was leased and commenced trading as the Clare Mineral Waters Company, producing a range of soft drinks and cordials until 1976.
It was led by Frank Bulfield who had visited Clare in 1910 on a sporting trip and liked it so much he returned to take up the role as brewery secretary in 1912.
By 1960, Clare Mineral Waters had nine staff and an annual wages bill of £6000.
1976 Enterprise Winery established
The Enterprise brewery building was established as a winery by Tim Knappstein and wife in 1976 and was known as Clare Enterprise Winery, named for the Enterprise wine plantings.
It later became known as the (Tim) Knappstein Enterprise Winery.
Tim Adams' two wineries: Mr Mick and Tim Adams
Mr Mick has a fascinating history
Mr. Mick Wines, Cellar Door and Kitchen are named after the late K.H.
(Mr. Mick) Knappstein, an Australian winemaking legend and Tim Adams’ mentor and friend.
In the early 1890’s there were already 150 acres of vines in the Clare Valley.
Brewer John Christison, one of the larger growers, could see a need to process the grapes, and as a consequence approached Joseph (J.H.) Knappstein, Otto Wein Smith and Magnus Badge (a local solicitor) to establish a winery.
In 1894 the four men contributed £350 each to purchase the recently failed Clare Jam and Preserving Works and proceeded to establish the necessary equipment for winemaking.
(Above: Then)
The location for this winery was down by the southern Hutt River in Clare, at 7 Dominic Street, Clare South Australia 5453
(Below: Now)
In 1902 my father Joseph Knappstein returned to Clare to take charge of the Stanley Wine Company, due to a crisis in the export side of the business.
He travelled to London and proceeded to open up new markets for the company. Joseph Knappstein returned to South Australia by 1909 and by 1914 had bought out the other three partners in the Stanley Wine Company.
Just three years later, in 1919 Joseph died, leaving behind a young family and the business was entrusted (unsuccessfully) to the management of Elders.
In 1935, when the time approached for the Knappstein family to take control of the business again, we took action that was to be the salvation of the company.
In 1954 the wine industry experienced a slump, but the Stanley Wine Company purchased another piece of land at Leasingham, planting almost all 50 acres with Riesling.
In 1954 Stanley also became involved with supplying wine to Lindemanns in NSW.
In 1962 Mick Knappstein (Mr. Mick) took over as managing director. During this time the family encouraged growers to plant more suitable varieties and increased our own grape plantings.
Production increased enormously and we were able to supply a large section of the industry with the varieties that they lacked. This was one of our big successes.
The company was renamed Stanley Leasingham winery.
In 1967 son Tim Knappstein joined the staff at Stanley as winemaker. He proved to be a very good winemaker and still is. The Knappstein family must be grateful to our winemakers for the fortunate situation in which we found ourselves prior to selling.
The (aging) Knappstein family shareholders eventually sold to (multinational) H.J. Heinz in 1971, and Tim Knappstein was kept on as winemaker.
Mr. Mick was retained as manager / managing director in an amicable outcome.
Owners H.J. Heinz moved the wine-making to a very large plant in the Riverland, and the Clare Stanley Wine Company premises were vacated.
In 2011 Tim Adams and wife purchased the Stanley Winey at Dominic Street, Clare, and renamed it 'Mr Mick' (the Stanley Name was owned by Heinz, and the Knappstein name owned by Accolade).
Tim Adams' Winery
just south of Clare
1987 was an eventful year for the newly named Tim Adams Wines, with the purchase of the current winery site at Warenda Road in Clare and arrival of daughter Frances.
Our cellar door was opened and the first grapes crushed on site the following year.
The decades that followed brought with them a natural evolution of the company, the physical site and the wines themselves.
These years of hard work, passion and curiosity have resulted in a progressive family winery that is committed to creating elegant wines, without forgetting its obligation to the Australian wine industry, environment and wider community.
Tim Adams Wines now has a presence in all major international markets and is the constant recipient of awards, reviews and accolades both in Australia and overseas.
Jim Barry Winery,
just north of Clare
Jim Barry was a pioneer of the Australian wine industry and was the first qualified winemaker to work in the Clare Valley.
He founded Jim Barry Wines in 1974, although earlier in 1959 Jim and his wife, Nancy, purchased their first property and vineyards on the northern outskirts of Clare.
Jim Barry was the first qualified winemaker in the Clare Valley, graduating with the 17th Degree in Oenology from the famous Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1947.
Working for 22 years as winemaker at the Clarevale Co-operative, Jim Barry became a pioneer of Australian table wine.
He then went on to establish Taylors Wines in 1969 for the Taylor family at Auburn, high in the Clare Valley.
Jim's wife Nancy proved a driving force in the formation of Jim Barry Wines and sons, Peter, Mark & John were involved in the company’s rise.
Peter Barry became managing director in 1985.
Today Peter’s children Tom, Sam and Olivia work for Jim Barry Wines as winemaker, commercial manager and brand ambassador respectively.
Current custodian’s, Peter & Sue Barry, are deeply proud that Jim Barry Wines is still family owned, with three generations of Roseworthy graduates.
Read more:
Clare Museum | The Story of Clare's Wineries | Chapter 4. Clare Wineries in the post-War Boom
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