Meet the power business couples taking southern Adelaide by storm, from vineyards to breweries
From husbands and wives to parents and sons, meet the business couples from the southern suburbs taking Adelaide by storm.
South
Don't miss out on the headlines from South . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Adelaide’s southern suburbs are home to some of the state’s best wineries, vineyards and cafes.
Run by siblings, couples and business partners, they’re taking the south by storm and bringing the local community closer together in the process.
Here are seven of the most successful business power couples down the coast.
Bekkers Wine
Suburb: McLaren Vale
It was her Dad who led Emmanuelle Bekkers to wine – after studying biochemistry, she told him she wanted to “see the evolution of something”.
“And Dad was always in love with wine, and that’s what winemaking is all about,” the French winemaker said.
Emmanuelle went on to train at winemaking schools in Bordeaux and Burgundy in France and “never looked back”.
“I came to Australia to do a vintage nearly 25 years ago – it’s the furthest country you can go to from France, and I interested in learning more about Australian wine being produced year in, year out, with the same level of quality – at the time, France wasn’t as good as producing exactly the same product at that medium range.”
Emmanuelle met her husband met in 1995 at one of McLaren Vale’s oldest wineries, Hardy’s Wines, after Toby had just graduated as a viticulturist.
Almost 30 years later, the couple has regularly travelled across Europe visiting different wine makers, each time coming back to Adelaide with new methods and motivation to continue producing high-quality wine for Bekkers Wines, which they started in 2010.
“The drive behind us starting our own company was us wanting to put McLaren Vale on the map as one of the best winegrowing regions in the world – the soil, the climate, the proximity to the sea, so it has a fantastic maritime influence,” Emmanuelle said.
“At the time, very few people were trying to showcase McLaren Vale at that very high end. We are working hard to put McLaren Vale on the map and on the world table.”
Toby and Emmanuelle are passionate about taking a fine-wine approach and applying it to their McLaren Vale winery – a philosophy that’s been enhanced by their European visits.
“McLaren Vale is a really collegiate region and we started Bekkers Wines wanting it to be a really fine-wine emblem from McLaren Vale. Every region needs that I think,” Toby said.
She’s watched a rise in new McLaren Vale wineries over the past couple of decades as more people became “passionate” about the region.
“We’ve seen a lot more small vineyards starting their own business and focusing on the great fruit of McLaren Vale – it’s a region that’s flourished over past 20 years. A lot of brands have started producing 100 per cent McLaren Vale wine.”
Lazy Ballerina
Suburb: Dingabledinga
It’s family first for James Hook and Miriam Bourne, the married couple who run Lazy Ballerina, just past Kuitpo.
James established the winery in 2004 with his parents Paul and Pat and when they retired in 2015, Miriam bought in – and the couple got to work.
The winery has since won multiple customer service awards and is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading family-friendly cellar doors – something James and Miriam are committed to maintaining.
“It’s a family business, a family atmosphere. It’s run by our family for families,” Miriam, 43, said.
“Our staff are a family to us as well – we often get brothers and sisters coming in and working. We’re just one big happy family.
“What we’ve built together, I think we know we’ve got each other’s back and whatever comes our way, we know we can make it work.
“As hectic as it is, I wouldn’t do life with anyone else. (I’m) not sure if we count as a ‘power couple’ as we know so many amazing couples doing great business together, but it’s nice to be thought of.”
The cellar door also offers accommodation with its tiny house Acorn Nook, a gorgeous, eco-friendly homestay.
Having started building Lazy Ballerina with his parents, James intends to keep the cellar door in the family.
“Obviously you never want to put a burden on someone else and say ‘this is yours now’ but that’s the idea (to keep it),” the 44-year-old said.
“I’ve always liked the idea of making something that would outlast you; something that you can look at and say ‘I built that, that’s our family’s’.”
Willunga General Store & Coriole
Suburb: Willunga
Most people who opened a new business during Covid didn’t have a great time. But for Lara Lloyd, it was a “lovely opportunity”.
Lara and her husband Duncan had recently moved to the Fleurieu from New South Wales with their kids, embarking on their own separate business journeys in South Australia.
Duncan joined forces with his brother Peter at Coriole where the two now run the day-to-day operations of the vineyard. Duncan is the senior winemaker while Peter is the general manager.
Lara began her own adventure and bought the Willunga General Store in 2021.
“Opening during Covid was actually a lovely opportunity to ease into it, it was almost like a soft opening in a way,” she said.
“I loved it. I got to know the locals, got to serve them and really was just able to see what would work. We found the town and the region were really receptive to it.”
Lara said having her husband in a different industry had been a blessing, allowing her to glimpse a full view of the Fleurieu region.
“We’re in separate industries but we feel like we contribute a lot to the region,” she said.
“We’ve very supportive of one another. Tourists aren't going to come down here and go to one place, they’re going to go to multiple places and it’s lovely to say to them ‘go up to Coriole and go here and there’.
“You don’t have your blinkers on and you’re not just focusing on your own business, you’re looking and focusing on the overall health of the region.”
Kick Back Brewing
Suburb: Aldinga
Brenton Schoemaker calls himself a “home brewer gone mad”.
His Kick Back Brewing – which he co-owns with his parents – has been one of Aldinga’s most adored breweries since it opened in 2021.
Working alongside his parents, Brenton said it’s been a major “learning curve” but he couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing.
“It really is a passion project turned into a full-blown business,” he said.
“Most days I feel like I’m not working which is awesome. It’s kind of a nice thing going in and doing what you love to do every day. Being that close to the beach is pretty cruisy.
“I’m a home brewer kind of gone mad.
“We live local and employ local, we’re very much part of the community. One of the biggest joys is that we can be a part of the community long term.”
Positioned in the heart of the Aldinga town, Brenton believes his business has created an “alternative” for people in the area, providing a different experience to that offered by the nearby pubs.
“That’s a big part of our demographic, families,” he said.
“We find our environment is much more relaxed and inviting to those age groups, the kids have space to run around the grass and have fun. As much as we’re a brewery, we’re a pure hospitality business.”
Cradle of Hills
Suburb: McLaren Vale
Tracy and Paul Smith started making wine in 2008 before selling their first bottle in 2012 – and on Friday, celebrated their 27-year anniversary.
The two met while Paul, 61, was working in the navy and Tracy, 64, was working in horticulture in North Queensland. Almost immediately, they bonded over their mutual passion – wine.
“Once we got chatting and it looked like he was going to head into winemaking, it seemed obvious one of us was going to farm grapes and one of us going to make wine, but we had to wait another 15 years after we first met to actually start our own business,” Tracy said.
“I had a career in horticulture so for me it was a sideways move to looking after my own farm and growing one crop rather than doing consultancy for farmers. My husband, he’s been passionate about wine since his 20s and finally got the opportunity to study winemaking and got to travel the world.”
“As a team we believed we had the passion and the drive to follow our dream to one day grow and produce our own wine,” Paul says.
Tracy admitted there’s been some ups and downs in the business, but “you just have to roll with it”.
“We love the industry and we love the work,” she said.
“The children have been able to grow up with their parents at home and in a beautiful part of the world.
“I guess after a while you take it for granted that you see each other 24/7 … We certainly appreciate that there’s lots and lots of positives being able to do the same thing. We discovered that we really loved working together.
“It’s been really satisfying. A lot of people come here and say ‘oh wow, what a place to live’.”
Smiling Samoyed
Suburb: Myponga
Smiling Samoyed was founded in 2012 by husband and wife Simon Dunstone and Kate Henning after their love for home brewing got “out of control”.
Together, the pair decided to take their passion to the next level and open their own brewery, named after their two Samoyed dogs Hoppy and Kent – with Hoppy even winning the ‘Brewery Dog of the Year’ title in 2018.
“Our first brew was in 2013,” Kate said. “We both had a shared passion in brewing and were looking for career changes.
“We enjoy it (working together) but we do understand that it’s not for everyone. I mostly handle the front-of-house stuff and he handles the brewing.”
The award-winning brewery offers a 12 Paws pale ale, a dark ale, an Australian Kolsch and an IPA, along with local wines, ciders, spirits and soft drinks.
“One of the real joys is where our location is, being right next to the Myponga reservoir … coming into work and seeing the kangaroos,” Kate said.
“Being able to serve beers to our customers is really rewarding.”
Adelaide Footy League club lands superstar signing for 2025
A local SA footy star and former SANFL captain and premiership player has joined an Adelaide Footy League club on the rise for season 2025.
Bartel’s best: Saints legend lists top teammates, opponents in stellar career
A Goodwood Saints legend has looked back on his career and picked his top opponents and teammates after being named as the top Adelaide Footy League player of the 21st Century.