LEGENDARY South Australian winemaker Peter Lehmann - the Baron of the Barossa - has died at 82.

Lehmann suffered from kidney disease and reportedly died in hospital in Adelaide after surgery this week.

One of the nation's most respected winemakers, he is survived by his wife Margaret, their sons David and Philip, and Doug and Libby from his first marriage.

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Lehmann was a giant of the Barossa Valley, born in Angaston to the local pastor in 1930 and founding his eponymous company more than 30 years ago.

His contribution to the industry as a whole was acknowledged in 2009 with an International Wine Challenge Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lehmann began working in the wine industry in 1947, aged 17, at Yalumba. In 1960 he moved to Saltram Wines, where he was chief winemaker for 20 years.

During a dispute over grape purchasing, Lehmann started his own business to buy grapes and make wine on the side in 1977, then known as Masterson Barossa Vineyards. The company was renamed Peter Lehmann Wines in 1982.

Peter Lehmann Wines was swept up in the export boom, only to suffer later as the surging dollar and cheaper foreign producers ate into its market share.

But in an interview with The Australian last month, Lehmann said that was only to be expected in an industry characterised by booms and busts.

He said the grape glut that dogged the industry for much of the past decade was little different from the one that spurred him to form his winery more than 30 years ago.

"It's a pendulum that swings back and forth, back and forth - the problems that we had in the late 1970s eventually led to the formation of this company," he said.