Mr Riggs Pop

Specialties

Premium wines from South Australia by Ben Riggs

History

Established in 2001.

Mr Riggs was founded in 2001 as a collaboration between Ben Riggs (with decades of vintages at McLaren Vale’s Wirra Wirra under his belt and his mentor, Penny’s Hill proprietor Tony Parkinson. The winery is positioned at the premium end of the ladder, using Ben’s extensive contacts with growers to cherry pick fruit from Adelaide Hills, Langhorne Creek (internal link to LC region section) and McLaren Vale, among other sites. The year 2013 saw the demerger of the Galvanized Wine Group — the collective that oversaw Mr. Riggs’ operations, including his collaboration with Tony Parkinson. Ben is buoyed by his newfound freedom to polish and perfect the wines in their exciting evolution.

Mr. Riggs’ winemaking philosophy is to make unpretentious wines that express the essence of the vineyard and the region’s terroir in a style that Ben enjoys drinking; big, rich and complex, but also with finesse, texture and elegance, the latter not necessarily being traits Ben possesses.

Meet the Business Owner

Ben R.

Business Owner

Ben Riggs’ winemaking career is coloured by stints abroad and time tending his own turf, getting to know the lie of the land that is McLaren Vale. But head back to 1985, when Ben was a wee lad (figuratively speaking as size has never been an issue for Ben) and you’ll see he graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College in Adelaide, what some call Australia’s Oxford of the wine world. Notable alumni include Peter Gago, the current craftsman of Penfolds’ Grange.

Since then, Ben has clocked 42 vintages, 14 of which were spent at the helm of Wirra Wirra in McLaren Vale. He also wears the rather mystical badge of Flying Winemaker. There’s no magic carpet involved, only frequent flying across the Northern Hemisphere, consulting to wineries of all shapes and sizes. Destinations include: France (south of), Napa Valley (west of US of A), Greece and Italy (before they broke the bank).