Thank you!

Hello everyone, from the cold and wet Barossa Ranges!

The time has come to begin to wind up this blog, and a final post is forthcoming but in the interim I want to call a huge shout-out to the following inspirational, helpful, wonderful, honest people who have in no small way, assisted me to get to the point that I am now at, which is near The End. Finally!

I dedicate one of my favourite songs - Thank you - to you all:

 Every customer of Karra Yerta Wines 

 Every customer of Collective Barossa

Philip White (legendary wine journalist and amazing man)

Steven Kurtz (Kurtz Family Vineyards)

Mark Mader (Gumpara Wines)

Ben Carwyn (Carwyn Cellars)

Chris Plazzer (Cloudwine Cellars)

Robyn Lewis (all round inspirational woman)

Julian Coldrey (wine journalist)

Jeremy Pringle (wine journalist)

Gary Walsh (wine journalist)

Andrew Graham (wine journalist)

Shane Barker (The Lonely Grape)

Sue Schulz

Peter Gajewski

 

Peter & Vicki Widdop (Old Mill Estate Wines)

Kym Burgemeister (Boutique Bottlers)

Kym Montgomery

Jo and Mark Seater 

Bill Biscoe

Simon Garlick (Chilli Chocolate Marketing)

Chris Ringland (Ringland Vintners)

Bob & Wilma McLean (McLean's Farm)

Apologies to anyone I may have missed. This may be a list that needs to be edited a few times. 

I really have no words to convey my relief at this segment of my life being over so that I may move on to other things. That ray of light really is getting bigger!

Cheers for now, and I really do mean cheers!

Marie

No banjos but plenty of amazing wine and food at McLean's Farm.

This is just a short post to feature some photos that I took recently of some of my favourite Barossa Ranges winemakers during one of the infamous Long Lunches. Great food, beautiful wine and good company made for a perfect Autumn afternoon. Some may say we play the banjos out this way, but I can tell you, I didn't spot one all afternoon! Bob McLean and Chris Ringland were far busier opening fine bottles of wine than looking for musical instruments to play:) Thanks to Bob and Wilma McLean for a memorable and fun afternoon!

Cheers for now,
Marie

Finally, a Ray of Light!

 "Faster than the speeding light she's flying

Trying to remember where it all began

She's got herself a little piece of heaven

Waiting for the time when Earth shall be as one..."

I am not a huge Madonna fan but one of my favourite motivational songs is "Ray of Light".

It really does pump me up! And tonight, I am feeling ever so exhausted on a physical level but pumped mentally knowing (on counting our remaining stock figures, and sending yet more emails with tracking numbers to my amazing customers), that I CAN see that Ray of Light which I have been working so hard toward for the past few years.

Even when I was working at a gold mine, driving in and out almost 450km and working twelve hour days in almost fifty degree celcius temperatures for twelve days straight, I would still try to chip at the wine block on my days off or sometimes even when I was at work (at nights, while living at camp). Sheer dedication and perhaps desperation, which is finally, FINALLY paying off, in every way. I am so happy. My shoulders are not happy (from lugging dozens of wine for many weeks), but I am happy.

During my time at the mine, I paid off one wine business debt (instead of going bankrupt) and now, I can almost sniff that feeling again knowing that soon, the debt of Karra Yerta Wines will also be wiped out. No easy feat in the wine industry whether people want to admit that or not. I am extremely proud of my efforts and most of all, grateful for having the best customers that anyone could want, and also for the support of a few retailers that stay true to their word on making payment (harder to find than what you would think!).

I won't miss being in the wine industry, but I will miss the fabulous people who email me with orders and then words of thanks. Kind people. Good people. People like I used to meet physically when I still had Collective Barossa open. So many incredible life experiences, but at a cost. Many lessons have been learnt and though I am slowly getting over the angst that many caused me, the memories of their actions will stay with me and that is good as I will not make the mistake of giving out my trust or my energy to the wrong people again. Ever. Therefore the entire experience can only be good as I have learnt what NOT to do more than learnt what TO do. It is an interesting life, this wine business.

I still have friends in the business and I sincerely wish them well. Please do support Kurtz Family Vineyards and Gumpara Wines especially. Those guys rock! I know how hard it is to make any profit. I know how hard it is to do as much as possible yourself (who can afford to pay wages?), and I know how tiring it is having to chase people up for money. There sure are easier ways to live but when you are passionate, it somehow seems worth the blood, sweat and tears. I lost my passion. It was a raw and unexpected feeling and at the time, I didn't really understand just how much my life would change. I am so glad it changed.

I can hold my head high and those who spat nasty words at me can hang theirs in shame. I will not leave this business with any bad debt. A good friend once told me that when people say really nasty things that you know are simply not true, that they are speaking about themselves. Well, yes. The ones who were nastiest to me are the ones who owe people the most money and continue to lie. Ironic, yes? Indeed.

I do not mention this out of spite. I mention it because it is part of my story. MY STORY. I gave this industry a good crack and tried so hard to help promote the Barossa and failed. But as a person, I did not fail. The venom from some made me try even harder to succeed at my goal of having a responsible and respectful exit strategy. I have grown more than I thought possible. I see things with a whole new perspective. I believe that the most painful lessons teach us the best lessons. I look forward to selling the last few pallets of our wine, and then moving on to a completely different path.

Mid life Crisis? No! It is a Mid life Awakening. Bring it on! I don't know if I have posted this quote in any of my earlier blog posts but it is worth a repost anyway. From one of my favourite movies and much like the song mentioned earlier, one of my most favourite motivators EVER; from the totally brilliant film, 'Shawshank Redemption' - "Either get busy livin' or get busy dyin'...." I choose the former. Selah.

Cheers for now,
Marie

By Jingo! It's Australia Day - let's run for the hills!

"Now listen,
Oh we're steppin' out.
I'm gonna turn around,
Gonna turn around once and we'll do the Eagle Rock.
Oh momma!
Oh you're rockin' well!
Hmm yeah you do it so well.."

 

Well, January 2014 certainly has proved to be a challenging month in many ways, certainly not helped by the spate of fires throughout the state of South Australia, some of which were far too close to my home in the Barossa Ranges - one at Eden Valley and two fires three days prior to that one, even closer, at Flaxmans Valley. In the thirty years I have lived in this region, I had never seen anything like it, nor felt the fear of a bush/grass fire, so personally. A blood red sky at night did nothing for my fast dwindling sense of safety. Personally, I think there is no overreacting in situations like this - better to get out and be safe than the alternative. Needless to say, a girl needed a bit of a distraction from reading the CFS warnings, stories of loss, and having two evacuations, desperately. 

So when I was reminded via a Facebook event notice that there was an Australia Day long weekend of fun at By Jingo Wines I literally did hop in the car, take a magnificent and relaxing one hour drive south through the winding roads and pulled up to the fabulous shed cellar door in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, in a scream of dust! The look on John Gilbert's face as my Honda screeched into his driveway was priceless. I hadn't seen him for about six years, so a visit was long overdue. He's my kinda wine guy - unique, down to earth, honest and fun!

John's mate, Luke, took charge of the vinyl (yes, vinyl!) on the day and the tunes were fabulous! After a fine platter we were all enjoying the tunes and doing our own Eagle Rock with a glass of By Jingo in hand. The lovely hostess with the mostest, Annick, served all day long with a genuine smile and her equally lovely offsider, Elizabeth, were simply fabulous company and new friendships were made and many laughs had. 

Pop over to the By Jingo website to see what they do, as it will be worthwhile. It's hard to put into words just how different the beat of their drum is to many other smaller wineries - from the amazing location just a few kilometres out of Mt. Barker on the Wistow/Strathalbyn road, to the chooks casually strolling around the lawn, to the amazing vegetable patch, to John and Annick's terrific personalities..... oh, and of course the incredibly different and delicious wines. These guys do things with style, no doubt about it, and that is why even when I am no longer involved with the wine industry, I will still class them as great friends. I admire them. Their passion and dedication to making unique wines is 10/10. Personally, my favourite is their Barossa Shiraz. Just astounding wine! I think it will always be one of my favourites. Check out the photos below and do keep an eye on their website or Twitter or Facebook pages to keep up to date with happenings. 

Cheers for now,  

Marie

2014 - The Best Thing.

Have no fear. There is always a way out.

"I put my spacesuit on
And count back ten to one
The gravitation pull gets stronger
My skin it pulls away
My brains are on a plate
The weightless feeling here is bliss..
This is the best thing that has ever happened to me
These are the colours that I've always wanted to see....."

The Best Thing that has ever happened to me was to NOT achieve my dream of having a successful retail business in the Barossa Valley. A few years ago, I thought I would forever live in the Barossa, in the same house that I had lived for twenty eight years and with the same partner that I married in 1989. In working myself almost to the point of an early grave, and in doing so, seeing much for what it really was and many for who they really were, and the sheer ugliness of it all, it became apparent that changes had to be made.

As I have stated before in earlier posts, when my amazing and much loved bookkeeper advised me to close shop and run, (and declare bankruptcy for my shop debt) I chose to put it out there that I needed a job in a mine to earn fast money to pay off my debts and take the weight off of my over-laden and oh so tired shoulders. Thirteen months later (and not forgetting that my new job in a mine began only a month after the doors of Collective Barossa closed for the final time), I was debt free and had found something in me that I never thought existed - Freedom of Spirit and Inner Faith. Many had left their scars on me when I left the Barossa. I thank them, again. Those scars have helped to make me what I am today, and though things are still tough for numerous reasons, the light is truly at the end of the tunnel. My new life, my new vision, my new passion has made me a better person. I am extremely grateful. Those who put the knives so deeply in my back are still treading the same paths as they were two years ago. I pity them, but I cannot help them. I can only help myself and those who are worthy of my help.

So, in stating all of the above, I am, in my usual style, announcing that my part in the running of Karra Yerta Wines is coming to a very swift end. I will have more to say on this in a future post. Perhaps not. Many know the stories behind much, and really, it probably doesn't matter. What matters is that my customers and friends (including many still in the wine industry) know that I won't be in this game for much longer. It's time to spread my wings and journey into yet more new adventures.

Hence, I am still trying to sell as much of our older stock (we have not made any wine since the 2010 vintage and trust me, our wines have only improved with age!) and clear as much remaining debt of Karra Yerta Wines as possible before completely moving on. If I can clear the debt of Collective Barossa, I can certainly clear the debt of Karra Yerta Wines and it is well within my reach. I have to go to the storage facility at Stockwell to get an accurate stocktake as there are many bits and pieces left, but primarily I have 2009 Eden Valley Riesling and 2008 Shiraz Cabernet for sale for $130 a dozen with free delivery in Australia. Both of these wines have won medals - the riesling a bronze at the Canberra International Riesling Challenge and the shiraz cabernet a silver medal at the Barossa Wine Show. The reviews are on this blog page if you want to find them. I have let the Karra Yerta Wines website lapse as I see no point in more outgoing costs so this blog and our Facebook and Twitter pages are the only places left to find information on us, other than various reviews etc on other wine review websites.

So for now, that's it. If you would like an order form, please email me at karrayertawines@gmail.com and though I am busy doing orders from Christmas/New Year, I will reply as soon as possible. Thanks to all who have been so positive and helpful over the past years/months. I know that you know who you are. Good things happen to good people and though sometimes it is hard to see it, out of every bad thing comes something good. Selah.

Cheers for now,
Marie

PS If you want to see a visual record of my personal growth and new passion, have a look at my photography page here. The entire world is my new home. I look forward to sharing more views of it with you in the coming years.

Have you ever seen the rain?

 

"Someone told me long ago 

There's a calm before the storm,

I know 

It's been comin for some time. 

When it's over, so they say, 

It'll rain a sunny day,

I know 

Shinin' down like water..."

I have just returned from a 3500 km drive (in a Honda Civic, nonetheless - which was not by choice as much as necessity!) through outback New South Wales and outback Queensland. That folks, is a feat in itself, particularly on the notoriously challenging Noccundra to Tibooburra route. Road maps simply do not show the poor condition of roads in outback Queensland. I guess one good thing about the mining industry being established in the outback is that it does mean that some of the roads get widened and/or sealed which is a great relief if you see an oncoming fifty-three metre road train coming your way!

Anyway, driving that distance alone gives one a substantial amount of time to ponder much... As I drove through the most harshest areas, and after speaking to the lovely Annabel Tully (whose paintings of the Channel Country can be found here) I realised just how extreme the Australian weather can be. Channel Country is a sight to behold. I can only imagine how beautiful it is after some of the massive rains that Queensland gets.  Some towns like Cunnumulla haven't had a decent rain for two years (so the local lady cleaning my hotel room, told me). The people of the outback are tough, make no mistake about it. They get little help from government and yet still manage to keep on battling. These are REAL battles. Battles of survival; physically, mentally, emotionally AND monetarily. It makes me think that the battles of being in the wine industry are relatively minor. Really. I think that the word resilience was made for our outback dwellers.

I asked many of the bushies, "Have you ever seen the rain?" On that note, as a fan of Creedence Clearwater Revival, there is something very surreal about driving along stretches of many hundreds of kilometre long roads alone, listening to the ballads of CCR. Good thinking music, indeed.

Businesses in rural (really rural - not the Barossa which I deem as urban) Australia are struggling so much more than the wineries. I pop into local pubs to speak to people, including the owners. I pay attention to how many people are in the bars. It's a sign if you walk into a pub and there is no-one there, or if they are closed by 7pm. If there is one thing about travelling through the outback, it is the necessity of stopping for a lone cold beer and a break from travelling, just to revive yourself for the next three hundred kilometres that you are doing before you stop for the night. Especially if you are travelling alone, as the constant watching of road-trains, roadkill, wildlife and feral animals really is rather exhausting. I was averaging around five hundred kilometres a day, in thirty five degree heat. Takes it out of you. Thank God for Coopers Ale and a nice shady spot to sit under the verandah of a country pub for an hour or so!

Now, all of you may be wondering what this has to do with wine. Well, lots. It has shown me what is really important in this amazing country we live in, and a lot may bite me for it and argue the point, but you won't change my opinion. As someone winding down our wine business, I know how much of a struggle it is. I think it will get worse with imports from South America and other parts of the world. Really, let's face it, yes wine is the livelihood of many Australian families, I do not dispute that BUT what I care about more is the state of our farming industry. Wine is wonderful but we need food more! I would prefer to drink overseas produced wine than eat overseas produced meat, or drink overseas produced milk!

Australians really need to support Australian businesses more now than ever. Economically it is a hard time for most people but if you could have seen what I saw, and spoken to the people that I spoke to, and driven along the roads that I did, you too would understand my point.  We need to support our farmers. Yes, do buy wine from small producers but also remember where your beef or milk comes from and cherish and support that. We only appreciate things when we have lost them - that is human nature.

I have had so many amazing experiences since life has led me out of the Barossa and with each one, I grow more and more, and see everything so differently. If I was a square peg in a round hole a few years ago, now I am a hexagonal peg in a pentagram. I am so grateful that things worked out (or didn't work out, perhaps) the way that they have. If I had not had to change my life, and do what I have needed to do I would still be sitting in my cottage living a life which really wasn't real. I was in a little bubble. I feel so much more in touch with life, now.

I have so many more miles to travel, so many more people to meet, and so many more photographs to take and experiences to document. I do live in the lucky country and I want you all to realise, that if you are Australian, you do too. Get out of the square. Someone said, go to a different place every year. I do that every month. It's as good for the soul as watching a sunset or a sunrise in the outback. SOME of the best things in life are free but often we don't realise it. Selah.

Cheers for now,
Marie

It's the I Ching Thing.

 

"Facing the morning, wearing her shadow

She throws her dice and I-Ching

Success in Japan, a rescuing man

Knows she won't change anything..."

Ah, the changes. The I Ching.  No Secrets. "She keeps no secrets from you...."

I've been transparent about my ups and downs of my time in the wine industry. Some people admire that, others cringe. It doesn't matter. It is what it is. It IS my story. Trust me, there is a whole lot more I could say but for now still, it isn't going to happen. 

What I will say again, is that I want to be out of this industry and free to pursue other wonderful adventures like I have in the past thirteen months of the best job I have ever had, with some of the best people I have had the good fortune to meet. I have now finished that job but the bush bug has bitten me and I have every intention of being out working in excessive heat, in dust storms, in the red sand, sooner than later. I love it. I love the challenge. I love the camaraderie that grows from being in the middle of nowhere with people that you work with, live with, eat with, laugh with, drink with, depend on in so many ways. 

It's a whole new world. It's a dangerous world but that makes it exciting, and I find that I can handle fear better than ever before in my life. What progress! In my first weeks at my new job, I often walked around wondering how I was going to manage to learn all the things I needed to learn, and to be safe while doing so but somehow I managed. I faced the fears, trusted those who were teaching me, and took it one day at a time. Frankly, overcoming so many of my fears, and the incredible life changes which I went through in order to have this job, was most empowering. I am forever grateful for the way fate landed me in a desert for over a year, despite it being the hottest summer in Australia's history. And yes folks, that was tough. But I made it. We all made it. What can I say? My former co-workers rock. 

You can probably tell that I am rather inspired by much. What I am really no longer inspired by is making and selling wine. I still like to drink wine now that I am back in temperatures below forty degrees celcius. I'm sure the Coopers Vintage Ale profits were much higher over summer than usual, however!  Yes, my name is Marie and I am STILL a grenache addict. Phew! Just as well with the lovely array of bottles I have stashed throughout my house! 

But one can love something without being involved with it too much. I have spent the past two years (at least) winding down wine businesses and still I have stock to sell. Admittedly, I haven't pushed it that much in the past six months because summer in the desert is about survival, not wine sales. Now that I am home (well, one of my homes... I have turned into quite the gypsy!), it is time to get back on the wine wagon and clear the stock for once and for all. This chapter is almost finished. It's a good feeling. Life is far too short to not be happy in what you are doing.

So, yes, over coming months you will see that I am selling our wines at crazy low prices. This is not an indication of the quality, it is merely time to let go and move on. Our wines have been stored in a proper storage facility in the Barossa Valley and most of them will be dispatched from there to save me lugging cases from Stockwell to the Post Office in Tanunda. The wines have aged wonderfully and I am confident that buyers will thoroughly enjoy them - and not only for the value aspect!

It is really lovely to continue to get amazing emails and messages from past customers who are saddened to see Karra Yerta take the path that we are, and yet, these same messages wish me all the best and understand why this dream has to end, and another one continue. It's fabulous. Our customers have always been fantastic, and I thank you all sincerely for being so understanding and supportive. 

On a final note, I think it is highly unlikely that I will get our website back up to scratch. It is simply too much work for too much risk of it being hacked again. We are still being spammed in the same manner that we were at the time of the hacking so confidence is low.  For now, please email me with any enquiries/orders to karrayertawines@gmail.com and I can let you know what stock is left and for what price. Again, thanks for past support and though I will not shut this blog down, the posts will continue to be sporadic. For more regular contact, I suggest joining our Facebook page or you can follow us on Twitter.

Cheers for now,

Marie

Changes - Time may change me, but I can't trace time.

"I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test...."

Today marks ten months since I started a new job, in a new industry, in a new area of this amazing country of Australia. Frankly, it was the best thing that could have happened to me, for many reasons. As David Bowie sang, Changes............

I've said it a thousand times in recent months, but I do see life with completely different eyes. It is a beautiful thing. Yes, we still have our Liquor Licence, and yes, we still have wine to sell and this year again, grapes to sell, but slowly we are winding up things and gaining time to live again. We gave it our all, and I certainly thought I was moving in the right direction by opening a shop to sell the wines of three small family wineries, but I was wrong. It was a hard but good lesson. The same mistakes will never be made again. I still find it bizarre how the plans I made changed so dramatically, so fast. One thing really does lead to another and change cannot be stopped. I have learnt to embrace change. I used to hate change - I liked to make plans, and stick to them. Maybe that was my problem.

I have spent little time in the Barossa since April 4th 2012 and it is funny how quickly we adapt to new lifestyles. I must admit, the recent temperatures in the desert have taken their toll but with the roster that I am on, the months literally fly by, so the intense summer is fast coming to an end and soon it will be much easier to get through the working days, maybe even without wearing a fly net over my hardhat. If someone had placed a bet with me that I would be driving 450km to work before doing a six to eight hour day, and then working for eleven to twelve hours a day for almost two weeks in the desert, in an industry I had never really considered, I would have lost money. It just goes to show that one never knows..... anything. People are often not what they seem, we are often not what we seem, life is often not what it seems. More often than not, one has to delve deeper and really experience good and bad to have a more accurate understanding of much.

So that is where I am at, and I do appreciate that our customers and other business contacts have understood that I can now only do things in my time, and most importantly, when I feel like it. Coming home is primarily for rest, not to keep working flat out on the wine business. I am not Superwoman anymore and do not wish to be. I work to live, not live to work, these days. But, while things are still up in the air somewhat, I still have some work to do.....

On that note, we still have a lot of wine to sell, despite not making new wines for the past two years, and despite on-selling our (still in barrels) red wines to a fellow winemaker in the Barossa. As our website was hacked a few weeks ago, and very well I must say, I now cannot rely on that to assist me. I am still assessing whether I feel like spending my rare time off of work messing around, rewriting, reformatting and updating something that can be destroyed so easily.

We have had our 2006 and 2007 Shiraz Cabernets, and our 2007, 2008 and 2009 Eden Valley Rieslings out at great prices for most of the past year, and though we have sold a lot still have some left so if you are interested in purchasing any, please email me at karrayertawines@gmail.com

Our 2008 Shiraz Cabernet (Silver Medal at the 2009 Barossa Wine Show) and what is left of our 2010 Eden Valley Riesling (Gold Medal at the 2010 Canberra International Riesling Challenge) is available for $20 per bottle, or $200 a case, plus postage (bank transfer or cash only, no credit cards, sorry).

I have been rather tardy on marketing/promoting our wines in the past year, and perhaps the fact that we are winding down does not help our sales, but our wines are still great value and we are far from being the only winery that has decided to wind down dramatically (most are forced to close, and fast). As I have said in previous blog posts, there are many reasons for us taking this path, and perhaps one day soon I will elaborate on some of them.

For now, I just want to get our stocks down significantly more so that our storage costs are much lower. I am not 100% sure if we will ever make wine again, or not. That will depend on many things, but for me, passion. If my passion does not come back for the industry, then there is no sense in returning to it. My life is too short to put my all into something which does not make me happy a lot of the time. Perhaps after a special experience at the end of this year things will be different. We are going to go right outside of our square and do something that we would never have had the time to do had we made the decision to process our grapes this year and produce yet more wine to watch go into storage, and spend so much more money merely to hope and wait for any kind of return.

In the meantime, I am going to take life a week at a time, explore new opportunities when I can, and continue following my newest passion - taking photographs of the amazing country that I live in. I have never seen so much beauty in my life as I have over the past ten months. There is a lot more to see, and whichever road of work I take, I will continue to appreciate the things in life that many others forget to even notice. I hope you enjoy the photos included with this post. This is what life is about - experiencing beautiful things, not money, not prestige, not possessions. This is what MY new life is about. Living. Australia. I'm right out of the square, and never going back into it, ever again. I want to be in the whole chess board.

For those of you who have supported us in the past, thank you sincerely. For those who continue to support us, even bigger thanks. It really is appreciated. And again, I thank Steven of Kurtz Family Vineyards and Mark of Gumpara Wines for being the fabulous guys that they are, and for making the job of closing Collective Barossa much easier than it could have been had they been men of lesser qualities. Selah.

Cheers for now,
Marie

Birthdays & Bonfires in the Barossa.

Following up to my previous post, I'm back home in the beautiful Barossa Ranges after another stint of working away. Within a six hour drive, I went from an afternoon of being sandblasted, in the middle of Woop Woop where the sun was shining and it was indeed short-sleeves weather, to an evening in the rolling hills of the Barossa where the first raindrops started falling on my car windscreen at Stockwell. Along the way, I finally managed to take another stack of photos of the Australian countryside that I am currently smitten by. The photo above is one of them, and thus today's blog post song is Elvis Presley's Mystery Train. Yours truly is a big Elvis fan. I'm not sure how many songs I get to listen to on each 450km trip to work, or back, but it's a lot. Elvis is often on the playlist.

My first day at home was the perfect example of a Barossa Ranges winter day; I awoke to the magnificent sound of rain falling on the roof, I could see the heavy mist through the lace curtains and there was a hint of crisp air in the bedroom despite the wood-fire going in the lounge-room of my cottage, down the hall. All was good in the world and as winter is my favourite season, and moreso now since I am often living in a region where there is little rain and certainly no mist, it was the most blissful feeling to be able to lay in bed and literally soak up the magnificence of the day. I pondered much and then eventually arose to start planning the day, and the weekend, for it is my youngest son's birthday this weekend. Oh how time does fly. He will be seventeen tomorrow, on Saturday June 23. Happy Birthday to my fabulous Son #2 (as I call him, regularly:)

I think a bonfire by the redgum stable may be in order. With marshmallows toasting on the antique fork that I used as a little girl at my grandparent's farm oh so many years ago. Bowls of home-made soup and a barbeque. Good home-style country cooking, which is what we Barossans do best. I am spending this afternoon in the kitchen making lots of delicious goodies and honestly can say that I do miss cooking. I do not need to cook when I work away nor do dishes. As a mother and wife for so many decades it feels strange to not do these tasks on a daily basis but it sure does make my time at home much more productive:) I never leave home to go back to work without having at least three meals in the freezer for the family to pull out when the need arises.

Once the cooking is finished, then it will be time to go for a look in the cellar for a bottle of red wine to indulge in tonight, in front of the fire, and a couple of special ones to enjoy tomorrow. I promise to try hard to steer away from anything grenache related but it won't be an easy task. Currently I am very much enjoying the Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache (one bottle less out of my half-case since opening that with last night's dinner of beef schnitzel) but I am thinking that a bottle of McLaren Vale Shiraz may be the perfect companion for tonight's beef cassoulet. So much wine, so little time. 

Winter really is a gorgeous time of year, for many reasons, but first and foremost I think it is hard to beat having a bottle of red with a slow-cooked meal unless perhaps one is indulging in a bottle of riesling with beer-battered flathead and home-made chips. Yes, these are the things that life is about. On that note, it's back to the pots and pans for me, and I do wish you could smell the aromas floating around my kitchen. You can take the woman out of the kitchen but you can't take the kitchen out of the woman........ Cooking rocks, just like Elvis!


Cheers for now, 
Marie

The best of both worlds.

"You say times are tough

 We've got the best of both worlds here

Things are rough

We've got the best of both worlds here

Times are tough

We've got the best of both worlds here"......

In three days time, it will be two months exactly since I started a different job, in a different industry, in a different part of Australia. It's been one hell of a ride! I truly do have The Best of Both Worlds at the moment. It's such an adventure, in every way, and I still sometimes sit and ponder how vastly different my 2012 is to what I had planned. 

For one thing, it is a wonderful feeling to be earning a wage. More importantly, and despite the fact that I still have many loose ends to tie up regarding Karra Yerta Wines and Collective Barossa, it is an incredible feeling to be able to travel home and have 'days off'. Real days off where I do only what I want, and feel no guilt whatsoever. I have gone from a lifestyle of Barossa/wine/dine/retail/people/people/people to one of the Outback/mining/isolation/no people/emus/kangaroos.

But most importantly of all, I see almost everything through different eyes. I feel reborn. Enthused. Inspired. I have turned my life upside down and many of the changes have been scary but as a person who used to need plans and order in everything, I am embracing disorder in my new life as a gypsy. My goals now are to take things a day/week/month at time, sell all of our older wine stocks (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 vintages), enjoy more peaceful days and have more quality time with my family, good friends and my dog (and hopefully a new little lamb which I bottle fed tonight. He was orphaned a few days ago.)

I am finding life outside, or somewhat outside, of the wine industry rather relaxing. The pressure has lifted and I now find myself enjoying a glass or bottle of wine regularly and from a totally different perspective. There's no more hoo haa. It is so refreshing! I am now more of a consumer than a producer and I like it. In fact, I love it.

A lot of things happened, most of them unexpected, and it has been a thought provoking past twelve months. As one who was so passionate about promoting the Barossa, and I guess, feeling obligated to as an owner of businesses and as a resident who really did love what the Barossa stood for, I can now stand back and have more freedom with much. I also see the Barossa with very different eyes. Where I spend most of my time now reminds me of how the Barossa used to be twenty or thirty years ago. I wonder where both places will be in another thirty years. I wonder where I will be. So many questions in life, and most have no answers. 

So (while I ponder which questions are important to continue to seek answers for, and which ones are to go in the Forget-About Box) on the days I am back in the Barossa, I shall enjoy my time at home in my cottage, enjoy popping into my favourite coffee shop (Keil's Fine Food and Coffee) for my lattè fix and to see Veena and Sarsi, enjoy replenishing my stock of Gumpara, Kurtz Family Vineyards and Yalumba wines, and spend as much time as possible living. Doing what I want, when I want, with whom I want. Then I will be back off to work in the amazing part of Australia where the sunrises and sunsets are like no other. 

I do have the best of both worlds, for now anyway. While I have it, I will lap it up and enjoy it. Life is too short and there is still so much to learn, see and experience. To do that, I need to be out in it, not stuck behind a counter day in, day out. I miss working with Steven and Mark and meeting the amazing people who used to come into the Collective Barossa wine sales/tasting room but I am still working with and meeting great people and sometimes but not too often, I even talk to them about wine:)

Cheers for now,

Marie

It's not really a road to nowhere. It leads to a pot of gold.

 "We're on a road to nowhere,

Come on inside,

Takin' that ride to nowhere,

We'll take that ride......"

I've arisen after an eleven hour much needed sleep. It's been a massive five weeks since I started a new life, out of the wine industry, out of the Barossa, and in a whole new world. I have seen parts of Australia that I never thought much about before and my passion has come back, but not for the wine business, and not for the Barossa, but for the remote parts of Australia where the things you see most often are emus and flies. Oh, and the most amazing skies; sunsets, clouds, sunrises, stars and moon risings. And more than ever before, I value my rare time spent with my family, in my cottage in the Barossa Ranges.

I am still selling wine (taking orders via the internet whilst away and processing them on the rare days that I am home in the Barossa) as there is still a lot to sell, and the sooner it is gone, the better. I am also still indulging in wine - most nights I lob to dinner with a bottle in hand. It's a great way to ensure a deep sleep after a long, hard day at work.

I don't miss anything right now, and it sure has opened my eyes to much. Life has become an adventure. Nothing is permanent so I am enjoying the ride. To have received my first pay after so many years of working for nothing, in fact, working to only get deeper in debt, was the best feeling ever. I have even had very premature thoughts of planning my first ever overseas holiday. I am going to Texas. Yep, I sure am! Everything is bigger in Texas! Ha! I have some great mates who are keen to have me lob on their doorstep so I am going to do just that.

As a person who lived, loved, breathed, my life in the Barossa, (and more particularly, the Barossa Ranges), loved the rain, mist, fog, windy roads through the hills, my transition and new love for life in flat country, dry, dusty, colourful country where everything appears to be just waiting for an artist's palette and a willing eye and hand, has been as much of a surprise to me as my sudden life change was to many of those around me. No promises. No regrets. A new life. Life did not begin at forty for me. It began at forty-five.

Tonight though, I am looking forward to a peaceful evening in my cottage, and a Barossa/German dinner of kassler, vegetables and wine. I am waiting for the rain, then the wood fire will get started and I will spend my blissful days off indulging in doing not much. After all, now that I actually have 'days off', surely that is what they are for:)

Cheers,
Marie

I am the Walrus, but I'm not crying, I am smiling.

"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together,

  See how they run like pigs from a gun, See how they fly. I'm crying"

6.30pm Wednesday 18th April, 2012.

I'm not sitting on a cornflake waiting for the van to come. I am sitting in the back seat of a SaaB 340 waiting for my favourite REX air hostess, Rachel, to bring me a coffee, and writing this blog post on a 'sick bag' which is the only accessible piece of paper I have.  I know, right? Never miss an opportunity to write a story and my writing hand has been itchy but work has kept me very, very busy. As I sit on the plane, I am feeling most reflective and have just realised that I am sitting here with the most satisfied smile on my face. Perhaps in my work attire, it is not unexpected. Perhaps after my efforts of the past three or so years, it is not surprising. And my efforts of the past fifteen days have been enormous.

I met Rachel about a month ago when I flew to NSW for a job interview. I had a seat at the very front of the plane, just across from Rachel's seat. We had a lovely chat during the flight and I must say that I have been most impressed with all of the REX staff that I have dealt with in my recent travels, particularly Rachel who tonight could see how exhausted I was after working twelve hour days for fifteen days, with only three days off in between. She gave me a lovely smile and then handed me a pillow to rest my weary head. Noticing that I was in my work clothes (and remembering that when we first met I was on my way to an interview) she sincerely congratulated me on my success in getting the job that I wanted so much.

I have been away from the Barossa and my home for fifteen days only but in so many ways it feels like months. 'Time' has always been something that the concept of I struggle with, in every way, but moreso in recent weeks. Where I work now, I do not need to know what day it is and I don't, until it is time to pack my bags and head to the airport. I am at work well before the sun rises and back 'home' as it is setting. I have made new friends and look forward to meeting more people in the the future months.  I have turned my back on and walked away from my home, the Barossa and the wine industry. I never foresaw this and do no regret it. I thought I would be selling wine for the next five or ten years at the Collective Barossa wine sales outlet.

Life, like death, changes everything. And everything has changed for me. I love it. I love my new job, I love the part of Australia where I now work, I love my friends for being the amazing people that they are, for so many of them have helped and continue to help me with this new phase of my life.

I have done things in the past weeks that I never thought I could or would do. I have faced many fears and conquered most of them, so my piece of advice to you all is to embrace change, work hard and surround yourself with good people because no matter who you are or what you do, the world will truly be your oyster. Tomorrow never knows.

Cheers for now,

Marie

A Day in the Life… Vintage 2012

“I read the news today, oh boy,

About a lucky man who made the grade,

And though the news was rather sad,

Well I just had to laugh,

I saw the photograph…….”

As I sit at my laptop with The Beatles’ ‘A Day In The Life’ playing loudly, I ponder the lyrics, deeply. Behind my laptop (which is on the kitchen table) is a beautiful bottle of riesling that I am yet to taste. It was a gift to me today from one of the nice guys in the wine industry of the Barossa; John Hughes aka ‘Riesling Freak’. He’s a top bloke. I am ashamed to say I have not tasted his wares before, though I have heard highly of them. John is making a name for himself in the wine business with his amazing rieslings from the Clare & Eden Valleys - the best of both (riesling) worlds.

I visited John today because I was delivering something to him, to pass on to our mutual friend, James Hook, of ‘The Lazy Ballerina’ at Kuitpo (McLaren Vale). I unashamedly adore McLaren Vale and its wine, particularly the Cadenzias, being the massive grenache fan that I am.

But what's in my glass, tonight? What am I sipping on as I sit here tapping away at the keyboard? I picked up the bottle of Kurtz Family Vineyards 2008 GSM from my kitchen bench but alas, it had barely enough left for a taste. I do love Steve Kurtz’s GSM. So much in fact, that a nickname I gave it in 2010, (‘Sexy Berries’) has become synonymous with this wine, far and wide, as it should. At $18 a bottle, it truly is one of the most sensual, best value wines from the Barossa. I call this one 'The Johnny Depp of Wine'. Hence, 'Sexy Berries'. Yours truly is as much in awe of Johnny Depp as I am of grenache.

Steve, much like John and James, is a champion. Good people make good wine. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times – I don't drink or buy wine produced by people I do not admire and/or like. And I have a very good wine in my glass, right now, but it’s not from McLaren Vale, nor the Clare, Eden or Barossa Valleys. It’s from Western Australia.

Thus, I introduce you to what I call the ‘Sean Connery of Wine’: the Blue Poles 2008 Reserve Merlot. Simply amazing, and made by another exceptionally nice fellow (whom I am yet to ‘physically’ meet), Mark Gifford. The last time I opened a bottle of this beautiful wine, I cooked a (home grown) mutton pot-roast to accompany it. It was divine; the meal and the wine. These are the parts of being in the wine industry that I love. I have made some incredible friends, and yes folks, some enemies. That’s life. My life is too short to have people in it that are not worthy of my very rare free time or energy. I have buried too many dear ones, at far too young ages in the past few years. I like and love good wine and good people. And I love this Blue Poles Merlot. It is an absolute cracking wine!

Now, somewhere in this post, I have been distracted from the main subject, by thoughts of these fine men and their fine wines, but that is part of the process of pondering ‘A Day In The Life’.

What I intended to write about primarily, was Vintage 2012. It appears we are not having one. We lost our entire crop from the precious little hill-top vineyard on one of the highest ridges in the Barossa Ranges in 2011. Too much rain, too much spraying, too much disease and in the end, we decided the quality we were seeking simply wasn’t there. In 2012, the crop is looking fantastic. Absolutely fantastic, actually. Our canopies are still amazing, and a lot around, aren't. It's a very important thing, at this stage of the harvest.

The jury (the two of us who are partners in Karra Yerta Wines) has not returned yet from the deliberation process, and a final decision will be made in the next few days, but by all accounts, I am of the opinion that Karra Yerta Wines is not going to make any wine from this years crop of shiraz, semillon and riesling and that we will simply try to on-sell the grapes. Why? Because it’s simply not a viable business proposition, and no matter how much passion you have, no matter how many hours you have spent hand-tending the vines, no matter how truly skilled you are in viticulture (as James from Karra Yerta is, after decades of tending to vineyards), thus producing excellent grapes with minimal intervention, there comes a time when you have to make decisions which are sensible, especially in this economic climate. It is not viable, nor sensible to spend another twenty thousand dollars (maybe less, maybe more) on making yet more wine (around two or three hundred cases, only) when you still have a backlog that is costing you daily for storage.

Our wines are not of a poor quality, in fact our rieslings are becoming well known and much loved all over Australia, and are very reasonably priced, yet still we have a backlog, even of the infamous Aussie red blend – shiraz cabernet. We have too much in stock, so for the first time in a number of years we have declined the regularly sourced Barossa Shiraz grapes and the Eden Valley Cabernet that we purchase (usually between one and one and a half tonne only of each). I can only speak for myself, as the writer of this post, but today, I am losing my passion. Slowly but surely. It’s time to wind things down a bit and stop living to work, and start working to live. There is a big difference.

I have just closed the Collective Barossa shop (one week ago today) after twenty five months of an average of ten to twelve hour days, with no real holiday in between. The timing of closure of the shop has fit in perfectly however, with the launch of a new online wine business called Wine Buzz, and David and Amber have taken over sales of the Collective Barossa group of wines which is simply fantastic. It certainly is great to see their passion, and to have someone else helping me sell our wines. As I have already stated in a previous blog post called 'The Battle of Evermore', I can only spread myself so thin. I will write more about the closure of Collective Barossa in the coming week/s, but for now, what is relevant is Vintage, or the lack of.

All around me, be it in the Barossa Ranges or on the Barossa floor, the harvesters or the hand-pickers are out and about. Unlike 2011, the region is bustling with trucks and extra vehicles and people. It is a great sight. It means there are many grapes to be picked, and from what I see and hear, some very, very good grapes. I hope the good guys of the game have a fantastic successful year. I also hope they are able to sell their grapes at good prices, or sell their wine when it is bottled and ready to go. I have many opinions on much, but really, to write them here today, is not necessary.

What is necessary is to think about the future. My future, and my family’s future. My children have grown up and it makes me realise just how fast time has gone in the past ten years. I want some of my time back. I want to have a holiday and let’s face it, I could have an incredible holiday for ten thousand dollars. Of course, there is still the issue of selling the wine we have left in storage, and now with the closure of one business, I will have more time for that, if I stay in the wine game. It's ironic, considering that our family are fifth and sixth generation Barossans, that I am seeing many things through different eyes, and frankly there are lots of questions to be raised about much. The Barossa is changing a lot, on many levels. It is going to change a lot more by the end of 2013, that's a given.

The next month will give me more direction as to much, and I look forward to many new adventures. Change can be scary, but it can also be good. I do believe that everything is as it is meant to be, right now. And that includes The Beatles playing in the background as I read over this post for a final time, choose a photograph to accompany it, and look at the bucket of riesling and shiraz grapes which will be given a baume` test later on today, Sunday March 4th, 2012. Just another Day In The Life. It's been an interesting day/week/life, indeed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow..... after all, I may be of 90% German heritage, but there is also a wee bit of Irish in me:)

Cheers for now,

Marie

Wine Blog Research Survey

A little off topic from the usual blog posts on here, but I have just completed a survey created by three professors at the Carleton University in Canada who are collating information on wine blogs - from bloggers and readers. If you are interested in contributing, please go to this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SZ76K86

It will take about fifteen minutes to do the survey and you can check the results at http://wineblogresearch.blogspot.com

Cheers for now,
Marie

Hot in the City? Time for a riesling, then....

"It's hot here at night, lonely, black and quiet, On a hot summer night, Don't be afraid of the world we made, On a hot summer night..."

Don't be afraid, indeed! There's another Summer of Riesling coming up and that can only be good. Less than a month to go until the sometimes brutal South Australian summer hits us. The green rolling hills of the Barossa Ranges will turn brown, the snakes will be out and about, and the vines will start bearing the harvest of 2012. Me? I plan to spend at least a few days at a beach with some of my favourite friends. It's one of my favourite places to sit and sip on a chilled glass of riesling.

It will soon be Hot in the City, too. I just had to throw an eighties' song into this blog post, as it's about another riesling review from our friend in the Wild, Wild West; Jesse Lewis of Good Drop (and Jesse knows how much I love the music from that era!)

If you are looking to stock up on the perfect refreshment for summer, then this wine is one of our Clearance Specials - more than thirty percent off until November 20th (conditions apply). It's drinking nicely as you will see in Jesse's review below:

Karra Yerta Wines 2006 Eden Valley Riesling

I was sent two samples from Karra Yerta back in July. The 2010 was very enjoyable, and I’m impressed by the poise of this one with four years’ extra bottle age.

Classic Riesling purity with aromas of lime, orange blossom and slate. There’s a touch of toasty wafer from bottle age. An occasional note of kerosene crops up. The palate is spicier than I expected it to be; a trait which works well again the brazen lime and stone character. Noticeable palate weight and grip too (considering the variety). A suggestion of apple pie finishes off what is an enjoyable semi-aged Riesling. A top match for roast pork with crackling, I’d be willing to bet.

Very Good – Excellent.

Closure: Screwcap

The Battle of Evermore, and of Small Business.

"Queen of Light took her bow, And then she turned to go,

The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom, And walked the night alone.

Oh, dance in the dark of night, Sing to the morning light.

The dark Lord rides in force tonight, And time will tell us all."

This blog post has been brewing in my head for at least the past eight weeks. The only thing that has changed during this time, is the placement of the goal posts that I thought I was kicking toward, in September. Life's like that. Even the best laid plans go astray. Tonight, and through to the wee hours of the morning, while listening to Led Zeppelin's  Battle of Evermore, I pondered many things, especially the word 'battle'.

In October, I drove, or was driven, over three thousand kilometres in distance. Toward the end of the month, it became a battle. Being surrounded by death or the dying of some of those I love and admire most, became a battle. Working so much still, knowing how tough it is to sell even a good competitive wine, let alone have all the energy necessary to run a family and two businesses, became a battle. There were days when I felt like I could sleep forever, and many more nights where I couldn't sleep at all. Existence became a battle. I'm picking up, if only because the pressure from most fronts has dropped, for now anyway.

The tough part was not being in a battle, it was not knowing how long those current battles would last. It's hard to keep going when you are worn out on every level. And unfortunately, a lot of small business owners are. Thus, I pose to you, just how important really is it for small businesses to remain viable in your neighbourhood, state and country?

As I drove to Melbourne, in the early days of October, I set myself some goals - for Karra Yerta Wines, Collective Barossa, my family and myself. They seemed to be the correct ones to aim for at the time. Five days later, on my return home, they were still the best options. I had been grieving heavily (that story will come in due course), and my heart and soul were drained. As I stopped at small country towns, and not so small ones, I took note of whether McDonalds, Woolworths, Coles and the like, were there. Watched for wind farms. Paid attention to well, things.... Lots of things. Life. I paid attention to my life, society, my place in it, my future and the future of all of us. I pondered deeply, about much.

I also gently spoke with other small business owners of many different kinds of retail outlets. They all said it had been a tough winter season. Lots of them were battling to pay the bills, as I was. Overheads in the wine industry, let alone the retail industry, are high. Even though I know what profit is, I am yet to see any, and that is fine as long as you have some idea how long the battle will last, for it is only then that you know the correct time to implement your Exit Strategy. One of my dearest friends, who is so gravely ill at the moment, and for whom I am already grieving, taught me the importance of an exit strategy and I am forever grateful to him.

I am also grateful to the many people who have helped me promote or sell our wines in the past month. Our 'Special Clearance Sale' ends on November 20. I need to sell lots of wine ("lots" to me is less than a few hundred cases) to have cash flow and reduce my overheads to remain viable with Karra Yerta and Collective Barossa.

Another thing I am grateful for is the never ending support from James, Steven (Kurtz Family Vineyards) and Mark (Gumpara Wines). Steven and Mark's commitment to selling their wines through (and serving behind the counter of) Collective Barossa, has been remarkable. Almost two years on, we have become an even tighter machine and work together so well. The respect we have for each other is incredible. It's another reason for me to keep going when I am so tired, when I can no longer speak a fluent sentence from sheer exhaustion of too many phone calls and too much talking. I love my quiet time at home, more than most people, I am sure. But for all the hard work, I still love my job. I love the people I work with, and I love meeting the amazing people that walk through the doors. These are the things that keep one going through the battle. These are also the things that change the positions of my goal posts. Life's like that. Even the best laid plans go astray........

So, in finishing off this rather heartfelt rant, I ask you all to consider supporting as many small businesses as you can. Once they close the doors, the chance of them reopening is probably non-existent. Drive past the big boys and just sometimes, drop into a small family business instead. A winery, a bottle-shop, a book shop, a gift shop, a restaurant, a cafe'. These are the people who through their own passion or stupidity (sometimes I wonder which of these two categories I fall under - maybe both!) decide they want to work long days, for perhaps no monetary payment, to follow their dreams.

I like small business, I like living in the country, and I love living in Australia. Let's all try to help Aussie small businesses survive in the future. The choice is ours! It really is that simple.

Cheers for now,
Marie