ABOUT CAPE JAFFA WINES
In 1992, the Hooper family purchased land nearby Cape Jaffa, on the Limestone Coast. The family planted vines in what was then, an unexplored wine region. that region is now known as Mount Benson.
Whilst the freshly planted vines thrived in their rich terra rossa soil, limestone was methodically picked from the surrounding hills and ever-so-slowly, the Cape Jaffa Wines cellar door emerged.
The Hoopers approach to wine making hasn’t differed greatly from their years of farming holistically in the South East and in 1996, carefully nurtured and healthy vines proudly produced the very first vintage.
Through our passion towards leaving minimal trace, we’ve created an entirely off-the-grid winery and cellar door and rely on the sun and the wind for the majority of our power. It was our proud achievement then, when in 2005 we received Biodynamic certification and became pioneers for South Australian biodynamic winemakers.
A passion for farming the land runs through the Hoopers blood and so we remain a wine-producing, family-run business today.
We’re serious about our product and our purpose but, we certainly do have a good time in the process.
THE LAND WE LIVE ON
The lands and waters of the Limestone Coast are central to the culture and beliefs of our First Nations people, the Buandig, Bindjali and Ngarrindjeri people, to whom we pay respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
It all starts with the land. We grow fruit in our own biodynamic vineyards and partner with growers who share our commitment to tread lightly and do all we can to let nature take its course. This natural process serves as our inspiration to explore the exciting potential of biodynamic winemaking trialling new ways of growing, blending, and vinifying without being constrained by convention. It’s all in service to making wines that capture the beauty of this special place and reflect the spirit of the people who call it home.
We've been in Robe all our life, it's home and there’s nowhere on the planet we’d rather be. Perched on the edge of the Great Australian Bight we are a cool climate region with perfect conditions to deal with the changing climate. Our growing capabilities are positively affected by the Bonney Upwelling, cool ocean winds that bring nutrient-rich water to the sea surface. Our vineyards are grown in rich Terra Rossa soil over a shallow limestone basin. At Cape Jaffa Wines, we have been blessed with an amazing natural underground aquifer, producing mineral water quality.
OUR FUTURE…
The future is bright here at Cape Jaffa Wines. We realise that now more than ever, we must be diversifying and upskilling in a tough wine industry climate. Currently, we are planting new alternate varieties including Gamay & Chenin Blanc. Although driven to build distribution and expand into new markets, we will never forget who we are or where we came from.
Limestone Coast tourism is booming and to reflect this, we are renovating. In late 2021 our new deck was completed, increasing our seating capacity immensely. Over the next 5 years, we will complete works to our internal office & cellar door building to cater for expansion and the capability to host weddings and other events.
After growing grapes, making wine and running sheep on the farm for more than 20 years, our itch for experimentation was becoming harder to ignore. In 2017 we started brewing our own beer and launched our second on-site business, Loophole Brewing Co. The brewery is now distributed nationally and is far from slowing down.
Watch this space, we’re passionate about growing our offerings to consumers in many ways
