i. Biography
The path runs through Seppeltsfield, Barossa Wineries, Southcorp, and Treasury Wine Estates, with fortified wines as the constant craft — a career marked less by abrupt turns than by the patient accumulation of knowledge, cellar by cellar, vintage by vintage.
The Path
Formal study and cellar work ran in parallel in James Godfrey’s early years, with Roseworthy Agricultural College (1977) arriving after he had already started as a cellar hand at Wynn’s Glenloth Winery in McLaren Vale (from 1974). That sequence matters: the work came first, then the study sharpened it, and the two together set the pace for a career built from the floor up. The later movement through Seppelt and Barossa reads as a sequence of fortified-wine practice rather than a change of subject. At Seppelt in Seppeltsfield Winery (1978–1981), James Godfrey worked as Assistant Winemaker before stepping up to Senior Winemaker at Seppelt in Seppeltsfield (1981–1984), with each role asking for more judgement around blending, maturation, and house style. He then moved to manager/winemaker at Barossa Wineries in Barossa Wineries (1984–1988), followed by manager/winemaker at Seppelt Wineries in Seppelts Wineries (1988–1990), carrying the same fortified-wine focus across each appointment. From 1990, the work sat under the Treasury banner, first as Group Fortified Winemaker at Treasury Wine Estates Group. The title later became Fortified Winemaker at Treasury Wine Estates, but the craft remained unchanged: fortified wine as a specialist field, held through continuity rather than reinvention.
The Work Today
Fortified Winemaker at Treasury Wine Estates is a title that signals concentration, not breadth. In that role, James Godfrey’s work sits inside a long-running discipline where precision, patience, and consistency matter as much as any single vintage. The through-line is visible in the progression itself: cellar hand, Assistant Winemaker, Senior Winemaker, manager/winemaker, Group Fortified Winemaker, then Fortified Winemaker. Across those steps, the specialty stays fixed. That kind of continuity is its own sort of expertise, especially in a category that depends on memory, repetition, and close attention over time.
Signature
James Godfrey’s signature wines include Para Vintage Tawny 1878–2016, Mount Rufus Tawny, Seppeltsfield D.P. 90 Port, and 100 Year Old Para Tawny. Read together, they point to the same part of the trade: age, layering, and the controlled development that fortified wines ask for over time.
Acclaim
James Godfrey’s honors include Baron of the Barossa (2009) and Winestate Winemaker of the Year (1999).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of James
What is James Godfrey's current role?
As of 2026, James Godfrey is Fortified Winemaker.
Where did James Godfrey train or study?
James Godfrey trained at Roseworthy Agricultural College.
What recognition has James Godfrey received?
Baron of the Barossa (2009).
