A better way of doing things

From modest beginnings, Jeffrey Grosset and Stephanie Toole have built a Clare Valley wine legacy through Grosset Wines and Mount Horrocks Wines respectively.

The rigour, care and generosity that guides their A-Grade Certified Organic and Biodynamic winemaking also shapes their shared approach to philanthropy. 

“We’re constantly looking to see if there are better ways to do things,” said Jeff. “My vision has always been to produce wines of uncompromising quality that really capture the essence of the pristine Clare Valley landscape.”

It’s underpinned by the Gaia hypothesis of the earth as a balanced, self-regulating system, named for the ancient Greek earth goddess.

Stephanie had always been quietly, generously philanthropic and as both businesses grew, they wanted to do more together to reflect the Gaia philosophy.

“I wanted to set up something that would endure, a structured environment that would outlive us and be passed to the next generation,” said Jeff.

Jeff and Stephanie’s three children are now becoming involved in the Foundation and encouraged to pursue causes that are meaningful to them.

“Integrity is so important to us in how we assess potential recipients of the foundation,” said Jeff. “We’re ruthless in filtering to find the most worthwhile entities.”

SAHMRI has continued to meet the standards of the Grosset Gaia Foundation and their support has evolved over the years, backing several research groups across the Institute including Parkinson’s disease research.

“I find it surprising and disappointing that these scientists have to spend so much time applying for grants,” said Stephanie. She says with the Foundation’s support “they can do what they’re good at, and it makes us feel good knowing the impact we can make. We’ve found it very rewarding.”

A current focus is Associate Professor Tim Sargeant’s dementia research, identifying ways of measuring and increasing a cellular recycling process called autophagy to preserve quality of life in later years.

“We like that there’s a reasonable chance of a breakthrough,” said Jeff. “You can tell that Tim’s close. It would be so extraordinary for the Grosset Gaia Foundation to be part of that, and to see it happen for SAHMRI.”

And with two winemakers in the house, who decides which bottle they open at night?

“Stephanie buys the wines, so she decides,” laughs Jeff.

“I’ll have to start slowing down on the wine purchases otherwise the kids will inherit a cellar as well,” said Stephanie.