Who is Purple Hands? When two good mates get together, one the Chief Winemaker with a major winery, the other with a passion for wine – the inevitable had to happen and Purple Hands Wines was created. Craig Stansborough and Mark Slade started Purple Hands in 2006 from humble beginnings. Just over a tonne of hand picked Shiraz was crushed and barrel fermented in Craig’s shed making around 100 dozen. Then came the hard part – finding a name for their new wine brand. Why the name Purple Hands? Anyone who has made red wine will know what a pair of purple stained hands looks like! A red winemakers’ hands become stained purple during vintage due to the constant contact with grape skins and the juice. And of course when winemakers are busy, they wipe their hands on their shirt. That was the inspiration behind Purple Hands Wines. We experimented with some white t-shirts, some red wine and some fun in the garden. The rest was left to the label designer to translate our concept to the label. What is the Purple Hands mission? Our mission is to produce fruit driven wines with elegance and texture that reflect the vineyards from which they are sourced. The aim is to make balanced wines so they can be consumed as young wines, but will also become interesting and enjoyable older wines. That means you can enjoy them now, but we are confident our wines have the potential to cellar if you have the patience. Our first vintage was in 2006 where we started with our Barossa Valley Shiraz. We now have a range of wines that showcase different varieties and vineyards from the Barossa Valley and an Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris.