The Full Story
What is "As If"?
As If Wines is a story of a journey.
"If" is a word that might be small, but is very mighty - it doesn't take many letters to have big meaning! It's the word that is inside every question that we ask ourselves in life - how many times a day do you ask yourself, "what if"? The power of "if" is in the possibility it suggests; it drives us to ask ourselves, what will happen with the choices I make and the paths I take? Amazing things happen when we embrace our Courage, believe in Hope, embody Persistence to achieve our dreams, and live in Gratitude for our opportunities.
From New York to McLaren Vale
Tim and Alie met in September 2015, on the North Fork of Long Island, one of New York State's wine growing regions. Tim arrived there as a vintage Production Winemaker for the local harvest season; Alie was producing her wines at the facility where Tim was working - and the rest is history! Since then our two founders have been traveling annually between our home towns of Cutchogue and McLaren Flat, until 2025.
Alie and Tim are now both full time in McLaren Flat, serving up the first wines they have made together as a couple, at their As If Wines cellar door on storied Ingoldby Road.
The Pathway to "As If"
Tim's great-grandparents arrived in McLaren Vale in 1928, and planted their Grenache vineyard in Blewitt Springs. Although that property is no longer in the family, it did start a four-generation legacy of McLaren Vale grape growing. Tim spent numerous years in cellar operations and production at Wolf Blass, and also traveled to California, Germany, and New York as a production winemaker.
Although Alie comes from a family of engineers, and is herself an engineer, she veered left, and started her first winery and cellar door in Brooklyn, New York. Subsequently, that cellar door moved to the North Fork of Long Island in 2017, where she produced her wines for 20 years. She created and sold wines under five different brands, and provided private label services as well. Upon meeting Tim, she quickly fell in love with McLaren Vale, and soon the two of them began plotting their future here.
In late 2020, Tim and Alie purchased the vineyard property on McLaren Flat Road that was owned and managed by his parents; when deciding on a name they chose "As If Vineyard" - and so the translocation of the As If name began.
In 2024, the opportunity came about to purchase the winery of local legend Graham Stevens. They quickly saw all of the possibility in the space and the location, and so the winery became As If Wines - McLaren Vale!
