Hickinbotham is a family - run business with a longstanding reputation for building homes of outstanding quality and value.

This tradition of commitment is paralleled in the Hickinbotham family's wine business. Backed by the family name, Hickinbotham Wines produces exceptional wines that leading commentators from around the world have reviewed with excellent scores.

The Hickinbotham family owns three vineyards. The Clarendon vineyard was established by Alan Hickinbotham in the Adelaide foothills in 1972, and provides fruit for Penfold's premium brands including 707 and the legendary Grange. The Paringa vineyard was developed in the Riverland in 1995 and the Finniss vineyard in 2000.

The Paringa vineyard, comprising 800 acres, is one of the largest private vineyards in Australia. The vineyard has many unique characteristics including close proximity to the River Murray, rich loamy red soils and a technically advanced irrigation system, all of which result in the production of high quality fruit and superior wines. In a short time Paringa has been extremely successful on the international stage. The 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon achieved 90 points, and the 2001 Shiraz was recently voted one of the "Best 100 Wines in the World" by the Wine Spectator and "Best Wine in its Class" by Newsweek Magazine - an exceptional achievement for a Riverland wine.

The Hickinbotham family has been exporting wines for over 25 years and their wines are sold by the glass in the very best restaurants in America, including Chartreuse in New York, Citrus in Los Angeles and Aureole in Las Vegas.

The Hickinbotham wine business is no overnight success story. Three generations of the Hickinbotham family have been involved with quality vines, grapes and wine since the Oenology Course was established at Roseworthy Agricultural College by Alan Robb Hickinbotham (the current chairman's father) in 1932. The Hickinbotham Roseworthy Wine Science Laboratory was built at the University of Adelaide's Waite campus in 1998, in honour of Alan Robb Hickinbotham's contribution to the Australian wine industry. The course he founded is regarded as one of the best in the world, ranking with Davis in California and Montpellier in France.

The Hickinbothams have a long history of innovation. Hickinbotham Wine head David Hickinbotham says the Paringa vineyard incorporates a state-of-the-art irrigation system that is designed to minimise water usage and as a result the vineyard uses one-third of the water that is used on an average Riverland vineyard.

"The philosophy is to apply the same principles that we have adopted at our Clarendon vineyard at Paringa," says David. "That is, to give the vines the same level of care they would require in a high rent area".

For information on purchasing Paringa or Clarendon wines, phone 8383 6755 or fax 8383 6855.