Paringa Estate Shiraz Estate 19

Having a "wine epiphany" has become something of a cliche, but for Lindsay McCall, it led to the creation of one of the finest wineries in Australia. The wine he tasted was a 1980 Seville Estate shiraz, which he ordered in a restaurant one night in 1983. Until that moment, he hadn't realized that Victoria could produce a wine of such caliber. In 1984, Lindsay, a geography teacher at the time, bought an old north-facing orchard and began planting. Those early years of winemaking on the Peninsula were a time of trial and effort. In fact the first twenty years were rough. By their 2nd vintage, 1988 Parina was officially on the market! Lindsay to continued to teach and tt wasn't until 1996, that he was finally able to give up the day job and become a full time winemaker. His first gong was at the Yarra Valley Wine show where he took out gold for his 1990 shiraz, and over the ensuing years, numerous awards followed. In 2007, the teacher who had no formal training in wine was awarded the "Best Winery in Australia," in the 'James Halliday Wine Companion'.