This five-star Clare Valley winery drips with history and quality.

Owners Andrew and Neil Pike are the great, great-grandchildren of English immigrant Henry Pike, who disembarked from the HMS Oakland in Adelaide in 1878 and set about establishing H. Pike & Co., a brewer of fine ales and tonics.

More than 130 years later, the English pike fish originally adopted as the company’s symbol adorns the labels of premium wines, which have come to be regarded as among Australia’s finest.

Andrew and Neil both graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College and together established Pikes in 1984, with Andrew specialising in viticulture and management, while Neil leads the winemaking and marketing efforts.

The Winery and 140 acres of vineyards are situated in the picturesque Polish Hill River sub region, on the eastern side of the Clare Valley . The climate in this area is considerably cooler, while the soils are quite different to the rest of the region. These attributes impart distinctive flavours and aromas to the wines from Polish Hill River.

Pikes has become best known for its flagship Rieslings, but the vineyard includes Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Viognier, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Sangiovese, Merlot and Tempranillo. Approximately 35,000 cases are produced and exported to about twelve countries.

“We are quite happy to watch over the wines during their formative stage and intervene only when necessary,’’ the Pike boys say.

Pike’s EWP Reserve Clare Valley Shiraz 2006 recently scored a whopping 97 points in James Halliday’s latest wine guide, while its top-tier Riesling, The Merle 2009 scored 96.

Henry Pike would certainly raise a heavenly glass to his innovative, wine-making descendants.  - John Lehmann