After a stint as a sommelier, James Madden had always dreamed of making his own wine. Having worked vintages as close to home as the Mornington Peninsula and as far afield as Languedoc in France, James decided it was time to take the plunge, so he set his sights on a pocket of land in the Adelaide Hills to make his dream a reality.

Along with his partner, Sam, the pair made the move from Melbourne to the bucolic Basket Ranges in the Hills, and Scintilla Wines was born. Sharing a shed with Alex Schulkin of The Other Right and Dave Caporaletti of Architects of Wine, James' wines are made with a staunchly minimal intervention focus, using organically farmed fruit and refusing to use any added sulphur in the winery.