Our Dominic Team

You’ll find in the extended Dominic family individuals with shared aspirations to further the tradition of Australian wine excellence established by young Dragutin Dominic when he migrated to South Australia’s Riverland wine region some 60 years ago.

Brian Dominic

Managing Director

Brian Dominic’s earliest memories are of the land, more specifically of the Riverland vineyards where, as a young boy, he would pick grapes all day and as the sun began to set, watch his father Dragutin load the fruit onto a truck for delivery to surrounding wineries.

And while he had an acute appreciation of their potential to become great South Australian wines, it wasn’t until he took over the business in the early 1990s that Dominic Wines moved from being an owner of vineyards to a company harbouring thoughts of producing its own wine.

The catalyst came in 2004 when Brian attended the London Wine Fair, where his passion to turn his grapes into his wines was further ignited. A crazy idea given his limited winemaking knowledge, he nonetheless tackled his new venture with vigour and was rewarded when the second vintage was released on the Swedish market. With generous praise from the nation’s wine critics, its success was assured.

Sixteen years on and with the help of a dedicated team at the company’s Berri headquarters, Brian can look back with satisfaction on a period of enormous growth, mainly in the Australian wine export market – and principally in China – to the point where Dominic Wines now exports over 15 million litres of bulk and private label wine to more than 15 countries each year.

Looking ahead down a road he describes as only half travelled and filled with opportunities, Brian identifies strengthening Dominic Wines’ local presence as a key goal, particularly in the populous eastern seaboard states of Australia; while at the same time exploring new international markets in New Zealand, Europe and Asia.

Despite the many successes, Brian remains very much a child of the land, finding great enjoyment in pottering around his vineyards on weekends and helping his wife tend to the family garden.

Louise Spangler

Production Administration

Bubbly, gregarious, sincere and authentic are character traits of South Australian wines. They also aptly describe people on the land – and that’s certainly what you’ll find with Dominic Wines’ Production and Administration Manager, Louise Spangler.

Her friendly and unflappable manner – kindled while growing up in the country and further honed during a career spent almost entirely in the Riverland’s primary industries sector – is immediately disarming and ideally suited to the demands of Dominic Wines’ bottling process.

Since joining the company in mid-2018, the Barmera born and bred resident has overseen the bottling of Dominic Wines’ own extensive range of South Australian wines for the domestic and international markets, as well as taking care of the increasing demand for bespoke private label wine.

These offerings are primarily aimed at the export market and involve a bottle label or brand created and produced by Dominic Wines exclusively for customers. The customer owns the label moving forward – and Louise ensures the drop never runs dry!

While a passionate Riverland devotee who always loves returning home, Louise nonetheless has the travel bug and enjoys discovering new places and meeting new people during her holidays. She is also an avid gardener, something that keeps her busy and content on weekends.