Portrait of Dick Simonsen
i. Biography
Marketing work at Barrgowan Vineyard in Curlewis, Victoria, Australia, sits close to the practical life of the estate, and Dick Simonsen’s brief shows that clearly. The outward-facing role is built on what happens in the vineyard and winery first: season, soil, fruit, and cellar work. In that setting, his job is to carry the estate’s quieter disciplines into view without separating them from the work that produces the wine.
The Path
Ownership, winemaking, and viticulture sit together in Dick Simonsen’s role at Barrgowan Vineyard. At Barrgowan Vineyard, the same name is attached to the vines, the cellar, and the bottle, which places Simonsen in the full cycle of the estate’s craft.
The Work Today
At Barrgowan Vineyard in Curlewis, Victoria, Australia, the vines are hand pruned, the grapes are hand picked, the must is basket pressed, and all wine movements are by gravity. Those are working choices with a clear trade logic: human touch where judgment matters, traditional pressing where gentleness matters, and gravity where movement can be kept calm and controlled. The process reads as deliberate rather than ornamental, with each stage shaped to suit the fruit and the pace of the estate.
Career - Owner — Barrgowan Vineyard, Victoria, Australia - Winemaker — Barrgowan Vineyard, Geelong, Victoria, Australia - Viticulturalist — Barrgowan Vineyard, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Signature
Dick's signature wines include Barrgowan Vineyard Simonsens Bellarine Peninsula Shiraz and Barrgowan Vineyard Simonsens Shiraz. The naming alone places Shiraz at the center of the work, while also tying the wines directly to Barrgowan Vineyard and to Simonsen’s own name. They read as estate wines with a personal mark, built around the relationship between site and variety.
Acclaim
Cool-climate Shiraz is the specialty associated with his work. That places Dick Simonsen’s craft in a specific register: Shiraz handled in a cooler climate rather than a warmer one, where the style is framed by place as much as by grape. At Barrgowan Vineyard in Curlewis, Victoria, Australia, that focus gives the work a clear identity and a disciplined point of reference.
FAQ What is Dick Simonsen's current role? As of 2026, Dick Simonsen is Marketing Manager. What is Dick Simonsen known for? Cool-climate Shiraz.
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