Laughing Jack Wines

The Kalleske family have been farming the same property since 1855 handed down generation after generation. This unique vineyard is situated near the hamlet of Greenock, a small town in the famous Barossa Valley and home to some of Australia’s greatest shiraz wines. 1999 saw a partnership form between the Kalleske and Schroeter families, bringing to life ‘Laughing Jack Wines’ with the production of the ‘1999 Laughing Jack Shiraz’. For Shawn this meant he a sixth generation young grape grower had turned a lifelong dream into a reality. Laughing Jack Wines began production from the Kalleske family’s modest tool shed located in Greenock, Barossa Valley. The Kalleske’s family estate is surrounded by majestic Blue and Red Gum trees (Eucalyptus species) which harbor the ‘Kookaburra’, an Australian bird. The ‘Laughing Jack’ as it was once called by the early settlers, has inspired writers and poets alike with its most famous fiendish laughter when laying claim to its territory. The resident Kookaburra family around the vineyard can be heard each morning at the break of dawn. The family estate consists of 3 vineyards affectionately known as the Hill Block, Home Block and East Block comprising of 85 acres of young and old vines of Shiraz, Chardonnay and Semillon. The remaining 200 acres is as it always has been, farmed with sheep and grain crops. In 2001 Shawn purchased the Moppa Block from his father Ian, 70 acres situated on the Eastern and Southern slopes of Moppa Hill in the Moppa district on the Western side of the Barossa. This property has an altitude of almost 400m above sea level at its highest peak and was already home to 3 acres of old vine Grenache whilst a further 24 acres of Shiraz, Tempranillo and Cabernet have since been planted. 23 acres on the corner of Stonewell and Seppeltsfield Roads at Marananga was acquired by Shawn in 2005 as a prime location for a future new winery (built in 2011/12) and cellar door (still to come) surrounded by 10 acres of vineyard yet to be planted.