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Peter Clarke

Portrait of Peter Clarke

PC is another one of these people who seems to run in top-gear continuously. I’m sure by the end of his life he’ll have lived the lives of five normal men. If Mick Jagger and Keith Richards fell over tomorrow, Pete could ably replace both of them without missing a beat. Apparently that’s got nothing to do with why he named his Riesling the ‘Wild Bunch’, but I’m dubious.

Damn do I enjoy a drink with Pete.

Originally a pilot, he clipped his own wings to start cooking 20 years ago. After stints in some well know gastro haunts around Adelaide, Pete started Barossa icon restaurant, Vintners Bar & Grill in 1996 and is still head-chef and co-owner today. 

Running a busy restaurant would keep most people snowed under, but not our Pete (as I said, five normal men). He also runs and is head-winemaker of boutique winery Tin Shed Wines, which has gone on in leaps and bounds in the last 10 years and is now very well regarded here and overseas.

And I won’t even start on the cooking classes, building wood ovens or the sausage making....it’s just too much.

So what does PC do to relax? It’s simple, he’s either out fishing or he’s slurping back tasty bottles of plonk for inspiration.

What a life!

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