Ken and Judith started the vineyard, winery and cellar door in 1973 and have built it into one of the leading wineries in the Canberra District. It continues to be a family affair with Judith doing most of the annual pruning, the arduous accounts and paperwork. Judith or Ken will welcome you at the cellar door.

The winemakers are Ken Helm and daughter Stephanie, who are fourth and fifth generation descendants of German vinedressers from the Rhineland, who established vineyards near Albury and Rutherglen in 1860s.

Ken's flagship wines are Riesling and Cabernets and he has connections with Riesling makers from all over the world, eg: Dr Loosen and Katharina Prüm in the Mosel and Dr Alexander Kohen from the German Wine School in Koblez. Trips to the vineyards and wineries of Mosel, the Rhine valley and Bordeaux have fine tuned the Helm wines. In 2000 Ken instigated the Canberra International Riesling Challenge  and his continuing role as chairman allows him to constantly keep abreast of new developments in Rieslings around the world.

Stephanie Helm (daughter), started making wine when she was 9 years of age and has produced Trophy, Gold, Silver and Bronze award wines under her own label - The Stephanie Collection. An Arts/Law graduate from ANU she continues to help out at the winery when time allows from her work commitments in Canberra.

A blending of food and wine...

Matthew Helm (son) trained as a chef at the Hyatt in Canberra and has worked in: Gleneagles Scotland; Kempinski Hotel in Munich Germany; Bathers Pavilion Balmoral Sydney; Oberoi on the Red Sea Egypt; Rayavadee Resort Thailand; Raffles Singapore and is currently working at the Wynn casino in Macau. Matthew consults on food and wine matching for Helm Wines.

A family mix of wine and politics ensures a memorable visit...

Natalie Helm (daughter) a Political Science and History graduate from the ANU, currently works in Sydney as a public relations consultant. Her father, Ken spent from 1988 to 2000 involved in local and federal politics, lobbying for the wine industry. Natalie's expertise in this area added to his effectiveness and his efforts were recognised with the Graham Gregory trophy awarded for his contribution to the NSW wine industry in 1999. Ken served for 12 years on Yass Shire Council and 2 years as Mayor (1985 - 1999).

 Trumpeting the district's growing reputation... (John Fordham, The Sunday Telegraph 2003)

A quarter of a century of wine making and promoting, together with pioneering the development of many of the Canberra Region wine styles has been a passion for Ken Helm. He has been involved in the development of the National Wine Show, Cool Climate Wine Show, Wine Press Club of Canberra and in numerous promotional events for the Canberra region. Awarded by NSW Government in 1999 the Graham Gregory Trophy for a major contribution to the NSW Wine Industry. He instigated the International Riesling Challenge held at the Hyatt in Canberra in 2000. Ken was awarded the Wolf Blass Award in 2006 for contribution to the promotion of Riesling.

Escape to Helms for an experience of wine, history, politics and good fun...

Helm Wines is more than just a working winery. A visit to Helm Wines could not only involve wine tasting in the historic Toual School House, but also the trivia of wine, politics, history and perhaps a look behind the scenes on a guided tour of wine making (viticulture). Helm Wines hopes that your visit is not only enjoyable but also educational. At Helms we believe that "visitors should be treated to not only a good wine, but also to experience the art of wine making".

An inexpensive family day out, the grounds of Helm's Winery offers great potential for a picnic, with picturesque rural scenery and the chance of seeing many native birds and wildlife such as kangaroos, wallabies, hares and shy resident echidna.

Join us today or on your next visit to Canberra.