At A Glance
Paracombe Premium Wines is a family-founded Adelaide Hills winery on an ancient plateau at Paracombe. Paul and Kathy Drogemuller began the vineyard venture after the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, and the range now runs from aromatic Sauvignon Blanc to Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, made, matured and bottled onsite.
The Producer
Paul and Kathy Drogemuller took on a burnt-out former dairy farm with no prior grape-growing or winemaking background. The farm became a vineyard after 1983; Paracombe Wines launched commercially in 1992. Paul is listed as both winemaker and viticulturalist, linking the hand-pruned vines directly to wines finished at the property.
Place
Paracombe sits in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, on the estate’s ancient plateau. The site is the fixed point for the estate fruit, while specialist local growers extend the fruit supply; Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz therefore sit in one Adelaide Hills range rather than in a single-vineyard catalogue.
Soil And Site
No named soil type is established here, but the ground is worked with practical measures: cut grass is laid beneath vines to retain water and encourage worm activity, while organic-based composts and fertilizers support soil health. Hand-pruning restricts yields, concentrating the crop the winery takes into its white and red wines.
Story
The estate began with recovery work rather than a ready-made winery. After the bushfires, Paul and Kathy turned the damaged dairy property into a vineyard, then built a business able to make, mature and bottle wine in the same place. The shift from farm to winery frames the current range: estate fruit is joined by selected local fruit, then handled under one roof from harvest through release.
Vineyards And Cellar
Vineyard work aims at grape quality through restricted yields, mulch and soil care. In the cellar, Paracombe describes a gentle, minimally interventionist approach; reds receive restrained oak and time in the cellar before release. That approach leaves Sauvignon Blanc able to carry bright fruit and lees texture, while Cabernet and Shiraz can hold dark fruit, spice and tannin without heavy oak flavour taking over.
Wines
The range has three clear shapes. Sauvignon Blanc 2025 is a varietal white fermented in stainless steel and kept on lees for four months, built around fresh fruit and a light textural layer. Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is 100% Cabernet, combining fruit from Paracombe’s 1992 plantings with Cabernet clones from the Waugh family vineyard; it brings dark berry fruit, herbs and fine spicy tannin. Shiraz 2018 spent 20 months in barrel, placing ripe blueberry and plum alongside French-oak spice, pepper and dark chocolate.
In The Glass
Sauvignon Blanc opens with green apple, gooseberry, blackcurrant leaf, pineapple and lime. Stainless-steel fermentation keeps the fruit direct, while four months on lees adds texture beneath its fresh acidity; the finish stays bright and dry. Cabernet moves from blackberry, soft leather, floral notes, oak and spice into dark cherry, plum and herbs, then closes with long, fine tannin and a spicy finish. Shiraz is broader in body: blueberry and dark plum meet pepper, chocolate and herbal notes, with cool mint at the finish after its extended barrel maturation.
A Bottle To Understand It
Begin with Paracombe Sauvignon Blanc 2025. It shows the producer’s white-wine side in a direct form: varietal Sauvignon Blanc, stainless-steel fermentation and four months on lees. Expect green apple, gooseberry, blackcurrant leaf, pineapple and lime, with fresh acidity carrying the fruit and lees contact supplying a little extra texture through the dry finish.
Anecdote
After the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, Paul and Kathy Drogemuller took on a burnt-out former dairy farm at Paracombe despite having no background in grape growing or winemaking. They planted vines and made their first wines in a tin shed. The equipment was improvised: a homemade basket press, secondhand milk tanks and a secondhand crusher. The commercial Paracombe Wines launch followed in 1992, around the homestead gardens, when Kathy was eight months pregnant with their second child, Sarah.
Final Word
Paracombe’s useful contrast is physical and easy to taste: plateau-grown Adelaide Hills fruit, hand-worked vines and onsite cellar work, expressed as citrus-and-lees Sauvignon Blanc, tannic Cabernet and barrel-spiced Shiraz.
Sources
- paracombewines.com.au/the-story-of-paracombe-wines
- paracombewines.com.au/ecological-wine-growing-and-making
- paracombewines.com.au/wine-making
- winecompanion.com.au/wineries/south-australia/adelaide-hills/paracombe-wines
- paracombewines.com.au/product/cabsauv
- paracombewines.com.au/product/shiraz
- paracombewines.com.au/product/sauvblanc
- www.systembolaget.se/produkt/vin/paracombe-9036601
- winepilot.com/paracombe-shiraz-2018-3