Family association with the industry meant it was only a matter of time till James became involved himself, now as one of the country’s best winemakers
Starting as a Lab manager in the Coonawarra to learn the fundamentals of winemaking, James quickly moved on to the Hunter Valley where he spent the next 15 vintages gaining experience across all aspects of winemaking from blending to the delicate vintage process.
Now in the Barossa Valley that offers warm continental climate and vines vines planted over 100 years ago James has the ability to produce both world class reds and white. Housed in the iconic Chateau Yaldara where he develops and nurtures McGuigan’s ultra-premium wines right from the sourcing of first class fruit through to his use of open-vat fermentation tanks(one of the few left in the Australian wine industry). Although he says his passion lies in red wine, he has produced some cracker whites with the McGuigan Shortlist Chardonnay and Riesling consistently picking up awards upon each vintage.