The Scholz family's commercial vineyard was planted in 1936 however, the rich history of this vineyard dates all the way back to 1845 when Johann Gottfried emigrated from his Silesian homeland to the Barossa valley. Originally a hospital for the Angaston region (throughout late 1800s to mid 1900s) the winery was bought to life after William Herbert (or Bert) turned his attention to the vines on the property. Unfortunately Bert's enthusiasm about grapegrowing coincided with the industry's worst downturn. In the late 1970s the "red wine boom" became the "red wine glut" and Bert sought a better price for his grapes by transferring his contract from the Kaiser Stuhl Cooperative to Saltram, where an old family friend, Peter Lehmann was chief winemaker. Unsurprisingly, Bert’s son Peter took his first winemaking job with Peter Lehmann at Saltram in 1979. Here he entered a dynamic environment, working with Andrew Wigan and Charlie Melton and the Baron himself to produce signature styles of Barossa Shiraz and Cabernet, Riesling and Semillon. In 1989 the Scholz family opened a cellar door adjacent to the century old hospital and started selling the first wines under The Willows Vineyard label. The Scholz family have come full circle - from healing with their hands to offering the 21st century’s latest natural remedy, red wine! All the time maintaining their closeness to the soil and the traditions of the Barossa.
