25/06/2026
Hi there! If you haven’t met us yet at As If Wines (and why not?!? 😏), we’re doing a little series on who we are, and what we’re up to this time of year.
Meet Tim Brunato, one half of the husband-and-wife duo behind As If Wines. Tim is a McLaren Flat local, and part of the fourth generation of his family to be involved in the McLaren Vale wine industry. His great grandfather immigrated from Italy, and in 1928 planted a Grenache vineyard in Blewitt Springs that is still cultivated today. His family is closely tied to Ingoldby Road (where the As If Wines cellar door is) history, even Mum still lives a few doors down from us!
This time of year, Tim is flogging it in the vineyard, pruning both of our properties by hand. He learned his skills from his grandfather, who was an Australian vine-pruning champion (somewhere there’s a photo to prove it!), and who worked at the old Ingoldby winery during vintage, and pruned all around the district. Check out the second slide for a video of Tim wielding the shears like a champ! Put him in the driver seat of pretty much any vineyard tractor or machine, and he knows what to do too.
But Tim’s talent does not end there! Tim’s grandfather also took him into the winery to help out as a kid, and so was Tim’s introduction to turning grapes into wine. He has worked in winery production management for over two decades, with many vintages in McLaren Vale, a decade in the Barossa, and also including stints in Germany, California, and eight years in New York, where he and wife Alie Shaper first met. The two are co-winemakers for the entire line of As If Wines.
When he’s not in the field or winery, Tim is very likely in the cellar door with Alie, pouring tastings and recounting McLaren Vale or other wine travel stories with visitors.
Each of our wines has an inspiration, and a connection to our history and how we became As If Wines. We look forward to meeting you in person at our Cellar Door, at 72 Ingoldby Road in McLaren Flat. We’re open 7 days a week, 10 AM to 5 PM.
