Forefathers was the first brand released by Goldschmidt Vineyards. A husband and wife team, Nick Goldschmidt is the winemaker and Yolyn Goldschmidt runs the business. "Forefathers" means "the best appellation, or the forefather appellation, for that variety in the New World". This brand uses a funnel vision approach to site specific non-geographical winemaking. The concept is to start with New World wines, then ask which are the classic varieties, which country are they best represented by, which appellation within that country best showcases the classic characters of that wine, and where is a vineyard within that appellation that will provide wines true to the character?

The McLaren Vale appellation in South Australia beautifully showcases the Shiraz varietal and Forefathers Shiraz is a classic example of wine from this region. McLaren Vale fruit characters for Shiraz are wonderfully spicy, rich, and delicious. Sourced from the 15-acre Gravel Pit Vineyard located on Coppermine Road, Forefathers Shiraz has structure, intensity, and complexity. We select only ripe grapes with excellent maturity and well-developed flavors. It is made using traditional Australian winemaking techniques: a short time on skins and fermented in the barrel. After fermentation is completed the wine is barrel racked and left in French oak for 12 months. The wine remains unfined and unfiltered thus preserving as much of the natural flavors as possible.