Our People
Thistledown was founded by Master of Wine, Giles Cooke who had a vision for a more elegant, textural interpretation of Australian wine. Initial explorations resulted in access to many of the best vineyards, many of which were the previously unloved Old Vine Grenache. Incredible, historic fruit sources coupled with Giles' increasingly adept hands has quickly resulted in a reputation for being amongst the best in the country.
Narrating those stories to an increasingly attentive global audience is the responsibility of our small but hugely committed team.
Giles Cooke MW
Founder, Winemaker & Proprietor
Prior to founding Thistledown, Giles travelled the world buying, selling and marketing wine while creating engaging new products.
Long the driving force and visionary behind Thistledown, Giles has used his global experience to to shine a new light on what makes South Australia special. A keen, natural cook, he believes that to make great wine, the understanding of your raw ingredients is vital - and to that effect he can be reliably found walking the vineyards, talking to the growers, every day in the run up to vintage
Splitting his time between Australia and the UK, Giles has his hands in most of the pies. Working with all the growers, running harvest, creating winemaking specs and packaging, he is not one to rest easily!
Paddy Gilhooly
Director of Sales & Co Proprietor
The combination of year backpacking in Australia in 2003, working for a Burgundy importer in Melbourne, then doing vintage in the beautiful Yarra Valley, inspired Paddy’s passion for a full time career in wine.
After holding various commercial wine sales roles and achieving his WSET Diploma, Paddy relocated to Australia in 2014 to work with Thistledown.
Since 2014, as Director of Sales and all around brand champion, Paddy has opened various markets internationally and increased Thistledown’s distribution in Australia.
