Hill of Grace shiraz first made by Cyril Henschke in 1958 on vines planted by Nicolaus Stanitski in the Eden Valley in 1860
The Henschke Hill of Grace vineyard, taking its name from the Gnadenberg Lutheran church in the background.
Image courtesy Henschke Wines
Nicolaus Stanitski planted the first vines in 1860 at a village called Parrot Hill in the Eden Valley in the ranges above Barossa Valley. Those vines make up the four hectare vineyard that would produce the world-famous Hill of Grace shiraz in the middle of the 20th Century.
Stanitski was related to Johann Christian Henschke who fled Silesia for South Australia in 1841 and bought land in what is now Keyneton in Eden Valley in 1862 and produced his first vintage of about 300 gallons of wine in 1868.
His son Paul Gotthard Henschke bought land, included that planted by Stanitski, in 1891. The vineyard at Parrott Hill took its Hill of Grace name from the English translation of nearby Gnadenberg Lutheran church’s name.
Going into 1950s, Cyril Henschke, a Churchill fellow, and his family’s fourth-generation winemaker, was making the market’s preferred ports and sherries but in a cooler Eden valley climate not suited to them. His heart was with table wines, made from shiraz and riesling.
Henschke created what is believed to be an Australian first with his 1952 Mount Edelstone shiraz from a single vineyard. Six years later, he did the same, with the help of brother Louis, with Hill of Grace vineyard in 1958 that was nearly 100 years old at that stage.
Hill of Grace wines has had a continuous history except for vintages 1960, 1974 and 2000, when seasonal difficulties meant the wine was not bottled.
In 1979, Stephen Henschke, as winemaker, and his wife and viticulturalist Prue took over the running of the winery after Stephen’s father Cyril died.
With their fame growing, the Hill of Grace wines became more concentrated, riper and more full-bodied. They comfortably adopted the screwcap seal in 2002, eliminating cork taint and premature oxidation and ensuring greater consistency of aging. Hill of Grace was rated as “Exceptional”, the highest ranking in Langton’s Classification of Wines in 2005.
Henschke also produces wines and blends from cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot, grenache, mourvèdre, cabernet France, Semillon, chardonnay, riesling, gewürtztraminer, viognier, pinot gris and muscat.
Another generation of Henschkes joined the family winery at the start of the 21st Century.