RIGHT ON SONG WITH ONE HELL OF A FUTURE Adelaide Hills winery Bird In Hand first popped up on my radar in the early 2000s when Kym Milne, only Australia’s second Master of Wine, came into the fold to become head winemaker. Kym gave the winery clear focus and direction, turning it into one of the most respected wineries in the region today. Yes, they do much more than that $25 go-to bottle of bubbly you can find just about anywhere that *everyone* in Adelaide swears by. […]
SRS BSNS Hero grape varieties in South Australia’s McLaren Vale wine region are currently undergoing a big shake up. Traditionally, over half the crush is chalked up to Shiraz, with about the next twenty percent going to (believe it or not) Cabernet Sauvignon. With scores of Italian varietals popping up on tasting lists across the Vale of late, it’s a welcome sight to see Brash Higgins (worldly vagabond-come-sommelier-turned-winemaker Brad Hickey) producing a single vineyard Cabernet Franc, born of the cracking black clays so readily ripped out […]
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 […]
Tip of the hat! After some twenty years working as a winemaker for other wineries locally and around the world, Andy Coppard took a leap of faith in 2012 to start his own label in Lino Ramble. Producing small batches of minimal intervention style wines sourced from various vineyards in McLaren Vale, he’s quickly created something quite unique to the region which is currently undergoing a change of face. Traditionally focussed on premium Shiraz, McLaren Vale has started focussing on the unique terroir that dots the […]
No need for formalities Why do so many people seem to take wine so seriously all of the time? Well, in case you didn’t know…. You don’t have to. Good fun wine needs to be enjoyed more readily, without being judged by the depth of flavour, the complexity, the cellaring potential, or the price tag. Case in point. At just $15 a bottle at cellar door, Tscharke’s Grenache Mataro is an expression of modern fruit forward wine, made to drink now. This wine punches above it’s weight and […]
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 […]
