Wisely, the four directors brought in a man named Alfred Basedow as their general manager and winemaker. Basedow had learned his craft in Europe and was considered one of the best winemakers in Australia at the time. This was to prove crucial not only for the success of our company but as a foundation for Clare's reputation to this day. With him at the helm, Stanley quickly produced its first vintage in 1895. It must have been a fair drop because the winery went from strength to strength until just ten years after starting out, Stanley's vintage of 1903 had grown to an extraordinary 378,540 litres of wine. This represented almost the entire output of the Clare Valley.