DOC ADAMS WINES
Waters Vineyard story.
In 1998 Darren Waters, an Orthopaedic surgeon, and his wife Elizabeth, a General Practitioner bought a neglected almond grove at Sellicks Hill. They quickly fell in love with the land which was hugged by the tail end of the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and fell away gently towards the ocean on the west. Being water lovers, it provided the best of two worlds-soil, perfect for growing grapes, olives and almonds and with beautiful sea views and ocean breezes. The land was also blessed with the presence of local bird life. The black cockatoos soaring over the property in their majestic flocks were awe inspiring.
The rest of their family fell in love with the land as well. Both their fathers Bob and Henry, had agriculture in their blood and over the first few years a lot of time, energy and passion was poured into developing the property into a first class vineyard and olivegrove.
Shiraz vines were planted and have produced high grade grapes ever since. The grapes have been contracted to various wineries over the years.
The Doc Adams brand came into existence in 2005, when viticulturalist Adam Jacobs and Darren Waters entered into a partnership. They formed a collective of 22 grape growers and started to make quality wines under the Doc Adams label. In 2012 , the company won Trophy for “Best Shiraz” in the McLaren Vale Wine Show with their 2010 shiraz. They won an additional 13 awards that year and Doc Adams was on the map.
In 2016 the company progressed to opening its first Cellar Door, and won the award for “Cellar Door of The Year” in McLaren Vale for 2017/18. The first time that a new Cellar Door had won this award made it extra special for the whole team. Doc Adams is also rated a 4 and a half star winery by James Halliday, and he has also bestowed a rating of 94 points on their “1838 First Vines Shiraz”. A single vineyard wine made from grapes picked from 103 year vines. Mister Halliday also said that this wine has a cellaring capacity of 22 years, but there is no need to wait as this wine drinks superbly right now.
Doc Adams Wines has now moved it’s base from the cellar door site to Lonsdale where it provides more intimate tasting experiences of it’s wonderful wine selection. The company, now managed by the Waters, has an exciting future and continues to produce high quality wines specializing in the rich, bold shiraz the area is so well known for.