Dutschke Wines is a small family winery situated in Lyndoch within the Barossa Valley. Currently, the vineyard has 17ha under vine.

The viticultural history of the winery begins at the end of the 19^th century when the property was primarily used for vegetable crops and to raise dairy cattle. There was hardly even the notion in the air that this patch of dirt would eventually become a leading Australian grape vineyard, despite a few vines dotted here and there.

Moving into the 1930’s, Oscar Semmler bought the St Jakobi Church Block and expanded the tiny vineyard ever-so-slightly, but still the majority of land was used for grazing.

Oscar’s son Ken Semmler took over in the early 1970’s and in 1975 the family planted Shiraz vines which are still in use today. These vines are now the cornerstone of Dutschke Wines. At this time most of the fruit was passed on to other Barossa winemakers who were desperately searching for quality grape to crush.

In 1990 Wayne Dutschke joined his uncle Ken on the ‘Block’ and they created WillowBend Wines, deciding to keep some fruit for themselves each vintage to produce their own wine. This was initially a very small scale operation.

Wayne brought a wealth of experience to his role. Starting off at Yalumba and Roseworthy, he went to work with quality Australian winemakers Don Lewis and Grant Burge and over time Wayne contributed to a number of 'good' vintages in California and Spain.

WillowBend Wines caught the interest of the US with their 1998 vintage release, leading the company's name to change to Dutschke Wines. A considered and sensible slight increase in production followed this change and has been rewarded by the wine-loving public since.

Operations at Dutschke Wines is now overseen by Wayne and Brenda Dutschke. In addition to producing several brands of reds and fortifieds to critical and consumer acclaim, Wayne has become an author of children’s books. ‘My Dad Has Purple Hands’, outlines the winemaking process as seen through the eyes of a little girl. A story even adults can enjoy.

In the 2011 Australian Wine Companion James Halliday awarded Dutschke Wines a 5 star rating – the 5^th year in a row it has been rated so highly. - Daniel Jess