Henschke is one of the longest established names in the Barossa. Johann Christian Henschke purchased land for a farm at Keyneton in 1861, after fleeing religious persecution in Silesia. He planted a small vineyard and an orchard. After initially making wine for family consumption, he produced his first commercial vintage in 1868. Each generation built upon the reputation for quality, but it was fourth generation Cyril Alfred Henschke, who in 1958, created the wine that has most captured the wine world's imagination, Hill of Grace.
The meticulous Henschke viticultural management system has seen a new breath of life into the ancient, venerable Hill of Grace vineyard. The original double storey cellar, built into the side of the hill in time for the 1868 vintage, has been added to throughout the generations. Now covered with ivy, the stone building retains an old world charm with its open fermenters and winemaking memorabilia on display. The grapes are picked early to mid April at a sugar level of around 24Brix, there is always a good acid/pH balance from the Hill of Grace vineyard. Unique and exceptional fruit, the anthocyanins, colour pigments, in the berries are very high, which perhaps offers a clue to the very high quality of the Hill of Grace Shiraz.
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