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Meet the top-tier South Australian winemakers who are toasting global success
Prioritising quality over quantity has helped O’Leary Walker secure shelf space in some of Europe’s finest grocery chains
Given they’d been great mates since their teenage years, building a winery together felt like an obvious move for career winemakers David O’Leary and Nick Walker. Fellow graduates of the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1982, they both learnt the ropes at the volume end of the market, working for the likes of Hardys and Mildara Blass.
A couple of decades in, the pair were keen to have a go at running their own show. In 2001, they acquired 85 acres in the Clare Valley and constructed a new facility. First crush was in 2003 and they haven’t looked back since.
“We’d always wanted to make our own wine because it’s the ultimate thing to do,” David says. “We thought, if you’re going to succeed you probably need two people, so we thought, ‘O’Leary Walker’. We couldn’t call it Walker O’Leary because people would think we made Scotch!”
A name for quality
Since the early noughties, those names have become a byword for South Australian quality in the world of wine – the pair’s premium Riesling, Shiraz and sparkling wines winning a string of awards, at home and abroad.
Latest honours include a Gold Medal and Best Shiraz in Show for the O’Leary Walker 2021 Clare Valley Shiraz, at the 2024 London Wine Competition.
Accolades like this make gaining entree to lucrative overseas markets an easier proposition, according to David.
“Word of mouth and third party endorsements are very strong in this industry,” he says.“Then, it’s up to the price and the quality of the wine to get it over the line. Quality is a lot easier to sell than sub-par or average and that’s where we’re coming from.”
Finding a niche
Ultimately, it’s about serving a particular group. “We’re hands-on winemakers who cater to customers who appreciate great wines,” David says.
That doesn’t overly restrict their opportunities, though. A small but growing proportion of the 12,000 cases O’Leary Walker produces each year are earmarked for export. They can be found in upscale UK grocery chain Waitrose and in top end supermarkets in Ireland and Sweden, where they sell for upwards of 12 pounds a bottle.
The business recently entered the Canadian market, where tariff turmoil has created opportunities for new suppliers. Closer to home, it’s pursuing openings in China and Taiwan, where well heeled buyers are showing an increasing preference for premium whites.
Given O’Leary Walker’s modest size and output, getting an ‘in’ with a niche customer in a handful of different destinations is an export strategy that makes sense, David believes.
“You don’t have all your eggs in one basket and it’s nice to showcase what Australia can do,” he says.
“We have a good region and some terrific vineyards and we want to make sure that we let the world know.”
Partnering with NAB to build a top shelf export business
NAB Agribusiness Manager Lyn Jacka says NAB has backed O’Leary Walker since its inception. The bank financed the construction of the winery and continues to support its founders as they pursue global growth opportunities.
“Nick and David have done an amazing job navigating turbulent conditions in the global wine industry over the past two decades,” Jacka says.
“They’re good finance managers and their product sells itself.”
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