Engine Room

The Engine Room vineyards were planted in 1994 on sandy loam soils of moderate fertility. Careful management, along with minimal irrigation, produce consistently high-quality fruit with excellent balance.

Two of McLaren Vale’s small wine producers, Shottesbrooke and Hamish Maguire, have created original wine brands with distinctly retro feel for the US markets, targeted specifically at none-wine-focused drinkers.

“The Engine Room brand came about because we wanted to focus on developing international markets, and we didn’t want to do that with our Shottesbrooke brand, which has a strong domestic following and consistent sales, “ he said. “We chose the name ‘Engine Room’ because that’s where I work as a winemaker and its really the heart of the whole operation.”

The front label of the 2005 Engine Room Shiraz tells the story of a winemaker’s day by using a range of facial images in a 1950s style. Hamish says they decided to remove the traditional black label because the target market is not interested in reading nebulous (often meaningless) tasting notes. “We want to capture them with the label and the imagery and the quality of the wine without overpowering them with wine-speak,” he said.

In the same way, the 2006 Chardonnay Sauvignon Semillion tells the story of the wine-maker's wife-the Vintage Widow- who looks like Marilyn Monroe. The Shiraz label reflects Hamish’s individual personality through a clever design that even features a stylised version of his own face.

Two of McLaren Vale’s small wine producers, Shottesbrooke and Hamish Maguire, have created original wine brands with distinctly retro feel for the US markets, targeted specifically at none-wine-focused drinkers.

“The Engine Room brand came about because we wanted to focus on developing international markets, and we didn’t want to do that with our Shottesbrooke brand, which has a strong domestic following and consistent sales, “ he said. “We chose the name ‘Engine Room’ because that’s where I work as a winemaker and its really the heart of the whole operation.”

The front label of the 2005 Engine Room Shiraz tells the story of a winemaker’s day by using a range of facial images in a 1950s style. Hamish says they decided to remove the traditional black label because the target market is not interested in reading nebulous (often meaningless) tasting notes. “We want to capture them with the label and the imagery and the quality of the wine without overpowering them with wine-speak,” he said.

In the same way, the 2006 Chardonnay Sauvignon Semillion tells the story of the wine-maker's wife-the Vintage Widow- who looks like Marilyn Monroe. The Shiraz label reflects Hamish’s individual personality through a clever design that even features a stylised version of his own face.