Being a wine tour guide you get a little bit excited when great new cellar doors pop up in the regions you visit. Here’s a run-down of the best new cellar doors that have opened up recently in the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, and McLaren Vale wine regions. Tapanappa Winery – Adelaide Hills Having taken some fifteen years to fully come into fruition, Tapanappa is the shared vision of legendary locals Brian and Ann Croser working closely with Bollinger of Champagne and the Cazes family of Pauillac, Bordeaux. […]
The ‘Survivor Vines’ shine on Back in the early 70’s when the Cirillo family emigrated to the Barossa from Calabria in Southern Italy, they became owners of a block of land filled with what appeared to be lifeless Grenache and Semillon bush vines. Having nurtured them back into life, the Cirillo family are now custodians of what is believed to be the oldest Grenache and Semillon vines in the world – something winemaker, vigneron, and staunch Grenache supporter Marco Cirillo is extremely proud of. Marco is a no-nonsense […]
Not your average Barossa Valley producer “Natural Wine making is lazy winemaking. I select the fruit parcels, press and then let the wine make itself. I taste the ferment and stop it when it needs to be stopped. Minimal Sulphite, bottle, label and sell.” – Tom Shobbrook Such is the mantra from a number of renegade South Australian winemakers, mainly hailing from a pocket of the Adelaide Hills known as Basket Range. To find a producer like Tom Shobbrook adhering to such a doctrine in […]
Bold… Elegant… Confident The name Travis Earth may not ring any bells – but it most definitely deserves a blip on your radar. Having grown up as the son of Robert O’Callaghan – founder and winemaker at the Barossa Valley’s ubiquitous Rockford – Travis Earth O’Callaghan is now making a name for himself as the fourth subsequent generation of winemaker in the family. Shying away from the limelight, Travis has escaped the boundaries of his father’s brand to live a more peaceful life on the sidelines, just doing what he loves at […]
