Purple Hands Wines

When two good mates got together, the inevitable had to happen and Purple Hands Wines was created.

Craig Stansborough and Mark Slade started Purple Hands in 2006 from humble beginnings. Just over a tonne of hand picked Shiraz was crushed and barrel fermented in Craig’s shed making around 100 dozen. Then came the hard part – finding a name for their new wine brand.

Why the name Purple Hands? Anyone who has made red wine will know what a pair of purple stained hands looks like! A red winemakers’ hands become stained purple during vintage due to the constant contact with grape skins and the juice. And of course when winemakers are busy, they wipe their hands on their shirt. That was the inspiration behind Purple Hands Wines.

Our home vineyard – Stansborough is situated in the Southern Barossa just north west of Williamstown. Literally, a stones throw from the Whispering Wall reservoir.

The 32 acre vineyard is planted on perfect Shiraz dirt, friable red clay over limestone. The vineyard plantings include Shiraz, Montepulciano and Aglianico. The southern end of the valley is recognized as the “cooler” end of the valley, with slightly lower temperatures and longer ripening periods to develop flavours.

Our mission is to produce fruit driven wines with elegance and texture that reflect the vineyards from which they are sourced.

The aim is to make balanced wines so they can be consumed as young wines, but will also become interesting and enjoyable older wines.

That means you can enjoy them now, but we are confident our wines have the potential to cellar if you have the patience.

Our online shop features our ranges of Purple Hands Wines. Tasting notes and award / review summary available when you click through to each wine.