Who is Patrick T?

Patrick Tocaciu is a man who loves good food and great friendships – a true South Australian who enjoys a laugh and a lark. He is also a very successful and well respected chief winemaker boasting a decorated career spanning more than three decades.

Born in Mount Gambier, in 1969 Pat moved to Adelaide to play football for North Adelaide Football Club. After studying Oenology at Roseworthy, Patrick’s wine making career commenced in the Barossa Valley.

Patrick’s extensive knowledge and skills have cemented his fine reputation for quality and helped secure international accolades for several major labels while working for them as Chief Winemaker. But now, the focus has switched to fulfilling a more personal goal in family vineyards located at Coonawarra and Wrattonbully.

“It’s always a winemaker’s dream to complete the story – to grow, make and sell your own produce. It’s taken me a number of years to get to that point, but we’re now at a stage where that dream is reality. I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment.” – Pat Tocaciu

The Patrick T Vineyards

Our Wrattonbully vineyard features almost 55 hectares of vines containing three white and three red varieties. The stalactite and stalagmite calcite formations together with rich fossil beds belonging to the world heritage-listed caves lie beneath the vineyard – and serve as the foundations for its fertile soils and unique characteristics.

Patrick T also grows a single, two-hectare vineyard of cabernet sauvignon in Coonawarra, which surrounds the Tocaciu family home.

“The first vines were planted in the seventies. On warm evenings we like to sit on the verandah and contemplate the years that have passed since we planted additional vines in the eighties.”– Pat Tocaciu

The Coonawarra vineyard’s 3406 vines produce between one and two kilograms of fruit per vine, which results in 300 to 700 dozen bottles of fine wine produced using traditional open fermenters, barrel fermentation and extended maturation in new French oak barriques.

The viticulturalist

Both vineyards have met quality assurance targets and international standards thanks to superior management by senior viticulturalist Rex Hutchison, who has played a pivotal role in the success of Patrick T Wines from the outset.

Rex comes from a long line of horticulturalists, and growing plants is in his blood. His Great Grandfather was the founder of the well-known Hutchison’s Nursery in Naracoorte, and it is only in the past six years that Rex has not been part of that business. Shifting his knowledge and expertise into viticulture, Rex now produces a high quality grape based on strong natural organic practice. A naturalist at heart, he has integrated biodynamic practices within the vineyards, working in harmony with the land to minimise the impact on native fauna and flora.