Redman Family Reclaims Rouge Homme

Treasury Wine Estates has returned the Rouge Homme wine brand to the Redman family, bringing one of Coonawarra’s best-known labels back to the people whose name helped shape its history.

The sale was announced on May 20 and formally marked at a lunch at Wynns Coonawarra Estate, in South Australia’s Coonawarra region. The deal includes the Rouge Homme brand and a small quantity of back-vintage wine. Redman Wines said it plans to make a small premium release under the label, keeping with its long record of award-winning reds.

Rouge Homme was first bottled in 1952 and became known in Australia and overseas for its Coonawarra wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz blends and clarets. The label was created after a visit from art dealer and wine lover Rudy Komon, when the Redman family translated “red man” into French using a dictionary. The family later learned that the grammatically correct version would have been “Homme de Rouge,” but the name had already been printed.

The brand changed hands in 1965, when Lindeman’s bought the winery, label and vineyard acreage. Lindeman’s later became part of Treasury Wine Estates. Redman Wines was launched in 1966.

Treasury Wine Estates senior viticulturalist Ben Harris said the company was proud to have been the custodian of Rouge Homme and pleased that it had been acquired by the Redman family. He said global interest in Coonawarra continued to grow because of its distinctive terroir and strong brand history.

Dan Redman, co-owner of Redman Wines and a fourth-generation winemaker, said the return of Rouge Homme was meaningful for the family and for Coonawarra. He said many wine drinkers still ask about the connection between Rouge Homme and Redman, especially those who remember wines made in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Redman family’s ties to Coonawarra go back more than a century. Bill Redman arrived in the region in 1901 and began work at John’s Riddoch winery, now part of Wynns Coonawarra Estate. In 1908, the family bought its first 16 hectares, and Bill began making his own wine at Riddoch Cellars the next year. His early reputation was built on refined dinner clarets sold in bulk to producers including Yalumba, Wynns, Penfolds and Lindeman’s.

The family’s wines gained wider recognition over time. The 1933 Woodley’s St Adele, made and bottled by Bill Redman, won first place at the 1936 First Empire Wine Competition in London. Bill’s son Owen joined the business in 1937 and helped raise the profile of both the family name and Coonawarra itself, including with a win at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show in 1947.

Rouge Homme became one of the region’s signature labels after its launch in 1952. The brand drew further attention with a three-trophy performance at the 1963 Sydney Royal Wine Show for the 1959 Rouge Homme Claret. After the sale to Lindeman’s in 1965, it continued to collect honors, including a gold medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition for the 1985 Rouge Homme Cabernet Sauvignon and a Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 1994 for Richardson’s Red Block Dry Red.

Coonawarra remains one of Australia’s most closely watched wine regions, known for medium-bodied red wines grown on terra rossa soil. Its old vines and cool climate have long supported Cabernet Sauvignon and other red varieties with strong structure and aging potential. Viticultural research at Wynns Coonawarra Estate since 2016 has added to that reputation by documenting how individual vineyard blocks perform over time.

The return of Rouge Homme comes as Australian wine companies continue to reassess heritage brands with deep regional ties, especially those with established consumer recognition. For Redman Wines, which is marking its 60th year, reclaiming Rouge Homme restores a label that has remained closely linked with its family story for generations.