Seppeltsfield

__B. Seppelt & Sons __
At the height of its activity in the 1890s, the wine company of B. Seppelt & Sons was the largest in Australia. It had attained success because the Seppelt family had drive, energy and high standards. This was true not only of the male heads of the family, father and son, Joseph and Benno, but also of Benno’s wife, Sophie, who contributed significantly to the running of the establishment. Many workers were housed on the property at Seppeltsfield, and many other wineries in the valley were part of B. Seppelt and Sons. Regular tours are scheduled daily or on weekends and joining a tour is welcomed if vacancies are available. Bookings are desirable and necessary for some tours as indicated. To make a booking please call Cellar Door on 08 8568 6217 or Download the Tour Booking Form. The staff at Seppeltsfield have many information sheets to answer questions about the history of Seppeltsfield.
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Please click here to read Seppeltsfield Village History
The original Seppelt cellars were on this site. The first wine was made in Mrs Seppelts' dairy. ||  || The whistle in the boiler chimney blew every day at the start of work, at lunch time and at the end of work. || Benno Seppelt had many clever ideas to improve his winery and the quality of the wine. The grape crusher was at the top of the hill so that the grape juice and skins could flow downhill from tank to tank. He imported yeast cultures from France. ||  || Seppelts also made vinegar in the vinegar house. ||
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The Seppelt dining hall, where Sophie Seppelt fed the workers every day on produce from the Seppelt gardens and farm. || This book of the letters of Maisie Smith gives a true account of her visit to the Barossa in 1899 on a cycling holiday. She writes: "...We finally reached the Seppelts' place and received a most hearty welcome from the old man and his wife, and subsequently from about eight of their chidren - only half the family I believe. They were rough, kindly, homely people and just hospitality itself. First they gave us drinks and then took us round their garden - lovely roses. Then we came in to a most sumptuous lunch and met the aforementioned family - a nice kind-hearted set. After lunch, the mother and girls took me in tow while the men took Mr Thomas and Mr Whiting and showed us all over their wonderful place. The wine cellars are something marvellous. We saw everything - where they make the wine, where they make the casks and everything else. This Seppeltsfield is the biggest and most prosperous wine watering place in all South Australia." || Sophie Seppelt and visitors viewing the roses The Seppelt family house, now containing offices || The mausoleum is the burial place of the Seppelt family. ||
 * [[image:maisie.jpg width="121" height="163"]] "Maisie : her life, her loves, her letters, 1898 to 1902 "/​ edited by Joan Kyffin Willington. (Kent Town, South Australia : Wakefield Press, 1992.)
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This sign at the mausoleum explains its use. || Most of the date palms were planted between 1927 and 1932 during the Great Depression, so that the workers could be retained at the winery. ||

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