If you’ve ever met Tom Galopoulos, you’ll know one thing straight away — he doesn’t muck around. Straight-talking, fiercely driven, and always up for a good story over a better glass of wine, Tom is the unapologetic heart and soul of Driftwood Wines.
He’s the patriarch of the family, the vineyard, and the business. And whether he’s in the cellar, the boardroom, or putting around on the tractor, one thing’s for sure — he runs the show.
Tom’s story starts in Kastoria, northern Greece, where his family had been making and drinking wine long before it was fashionable. His grandfather grew vines, and some of Tom’s earliest memories are of picking grapes on the family farm as a wide-eyed kid. That early connection to the land, an unrelenting work ethic, and the lifestyle of a vineyard, never really left him.
In the mid-1950s, Tom’s father packed up the family and set sail for Australia, chasing opportunity like so many migrants of the time. Tom arrived at the port of Fremantle as a kid with “the heaviest shoes in the world” — the soles were packed with coins. Greek ingenuity at its finest.
Settling into Fremantle, the Galopoulos family wasted no time getting to work. Tom’s father opened the now-legendary International Café, a local institution that gave Tom his first taste of business — and the hustle. While other kids were playing footy, Tom was selling newspapers, shining shoes, and soaking up everything the port city had to offer. If there was a deal to be done, Tom was already there, figuring it out.
Tom went to John Curtin College (when he actually showed up), but truth be told, Tom’s real education was on the streets of Fremantle — in business, in people, and in backing yourself. That entrepreneurial fire never went out.
Over the years, Tom has dabbled and dominated in everything from fashion retail to property development and mining. He’s a true multi-hyphenate, and shows no signs of slowing down.
The Driftwood chapter began in the 1980s when Tom purchased a property in Margaret River as a family holiday house. Back then, it was just about weekends away, getting the kids onto the land, and plenty of good food and wine. But the land had other ideas. In 1989, the vineyard was planted — and the seeds of Driftwood Estate were sown.
Since then, Tom has built Driftwood into one of Margaret River’s most recognisable wine brands — all without losing the grit, charm, or attitude that makes it unmistakably his. Under his watch, the vineyard has flourished, the wines have taken home serious awards, and the estate has become a must-visit for anyone serious about great wine and good times.
Tom doesn’t pretend to be a winemaker — he’s got a team of top talent for that. But pretty much every other decision, every direction, every t-shirt, every label has Tom’s fingerprints on it. Tom’s the boss, the backer, and the bloke who will always tell you exactly what he thinks — usually with a cheeky grin and a killer vintage in hand.
Whether he’s talking vines, deals, or dinner plans, Tom Galopoulos does it all with the same no-nonsense energy he’s had since he first stepped off the boat.
Blunt, bold, and bursting with life, he’s the kind of bloke who builds legacies — and brings everyone along for the ride.