After finishing senior, Brett Hayes (1988), pictured left, went onto complete a Bachelor of Commerce at The University of Queensland. Following 25 years as a global consultant with Accenture, Brett’s long-held desire to become a wine producer and his particular passion for the wines and vines of the Barossa Valley, saw him establish Hayes Family Wines ahead of the 2014 vintage. Whilst still a proud Old Boy of the blue and grey, it would be fair to say that red is now Brett’s favourite colour.

To this day his focus remains on Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro, which are historically the most important red varietals of the Barossa. Brett currently farms eight individual Grenache blocks that cover the full spread of the Barossa’s north, west and south. An already enviable track record of producing some of the region’s finest wines can be attributed to the extreme care, attention to detail in all aspects in the management of the vineyard. This extends to hand pruning and hand harvesting. It is however the diversity of the soils, the sites he farms and the impact these have on his wines, that continues to amaze Brett.

Brett is especially excited about the future of Grenache. So much so, he has named a Grenache after his son Sam, a year 6 student at Churchie. Additionally, Brett has co-authored a book titled Grenache Barossa Grown with Steve Leszczynski, who is the owner and editor of QwineReviews.com. Steve also happens to be a teacher in Churchie’s Preparatory School. In the book Brett and Steve explore the history, the soils, the growers and ultimately the wines produced across the full breadth of the Barossa Valley. Whilst the release date for the book is Monday 15 November 2022, please click here if you wish to pre-order a copy.