​The Curtis Family Vineyards are established just west of the McLaren Vale township. Its vineyards have flourished, and now its sought-after McLaren Vale wines are available on the Australian and export markets.
The story of the Curtis Family Vineyards is about how everything old came new again...of how European immigrants came to Australia, struggled against the odds and then applied old-world values and experience to produce fine wines.
The new faces behind the Curtis Family Vineyards are Mark, Thomas & Jenna Curtis, with the guidance of their father, Claudio Curtis who lives on the vineyard just outside McLaren Vale. The name Curtis is thought to derive from Curtius, a noble and wealthy family of the First and Second Centuries AD, the Roman Empire era originating from the Latinium people.
Records show that the Curtis Family name first appeared in Cervaro in 1471, a town established by the Latinium tribe in Central Italy around the Second Century AD. Cervaro is situated approximately 10 km south of the monastery town of Monte Cassino, the site of some of the bitterest fighting between the Allied and German forces in Italy during World War II.
In 1499 the Cardinal de Medici allocated Paolo Curtis the authority to administer the Papal lands in the area around Cervaro. Upon these rich soils, they established vineyards and olive groves, which the family still farms. They became major wine-producing families, selling to large city merchants from Naples and Rome. The Second World War took its toll upon the winery and barrel storage buildings, with more destruction when the introduction of the Phylloxera grapevine louse, badly damaged the vineyards. Some were replanted and are harvested today. The young Claudio Curtis first became involved in vineyards while the later replanting was taking place. While his parents tendered the newly growing vines, Claudio tried to help by removing the growing shoots.
The Curtis Family have been growing grapes and making wine in McLaren Vale since 1973.
Today the Curtis Family are concentrating on developing complex premium wines. Premium wines that show the Curtis Family's passion for great McLaren Vale Wine.
Gli evviva a lei e al buono vino dalla famiglia di Curtis - Cheers to you and to good wine ---The Curtis Family