John Kirk's passion for wine began at fourteen while managing the bar at his parents' Hydro Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland. He deepened his knowledge of wine while studying biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and during postdoctoral work at Oxford.
In 1968, John moved to Australia for a research position at CSIRO and, by 1971, purchased a 44-acre farm near Murrumbateman. The land featured unique reddish parna soil atop yellowish clays and volcanic dacite. He established a vineyard named Clonakilla, honoring his grandfather's farm in Ireland.
In 1977, John and his sons built their first winery, currently the Muscat solero. He planted his first Shiraz in 1972, blending it with Cabernet Sauvignon (as was the norm in Australia during that time) until 1990, when he separated the Shiraz component. This decision led to the acclaimed Clonakilla 1990 Shiraz, which won multiple awards and changed the perception of Murrumbateman Shiraz.
Clonakilla's Shiraz Viognier originated in 1991 when Chief Winemaker Tim Kirk visited Domaine Guigal in Côte-Rôtie and tasted their famous Syrah-Viognier blends, La Turque and La Mouline. The experience left a lasting impression on Tim due to the intriguing combination of spice, fruit, and floral notes. Inspired by the finesse and complexity of these wines, Tim envisioned producing something similar from Clonakilla's Murrumbateman vineyard.
Coincidentally, his father, Dr. John Kirk, had planted Viognier five years earlier, intending to create a white wine. When Tim returned to Australia in 1992, he suggested blending the Viognier into their Shiraz fermentations. Encouraged by his father, they embarked on this endeavor, leading to the creation of an Australian wine icon, Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier.