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It's a lovely winter evening in the Barossa Ranges; the wood fire is going, dinner is cooking, the rain has been gently falling most of the day and I have finally managed to pin down the man of the house to get a 2010 Vintage Report. He's had a long day at the local football so is a little weary but we'll give it a shot anyway:
The first crop to come off this year, as always, was the Barossa Shiraz, which we source from a fabulous fellow in the Moppa region of the Barossa floor, and have done now for the past six years. The grapes from this vineyard are always (what I find, anyway) true Barossa shiraz flavours; black cherry and chocolate. It was picked a little earlier this year, in an attempt to avoid high alcohol levels, therefore the style may be a little leaner than in other years, but it is still looking very good. This wine is now safely tucked away in a French Oak barrel, to do its wonderful thing; evolve.
The next pick was the Eden Valley Riesling on March 7th, from the Karra Yerta vineyard in the high Barossa Ranges. This was also picked earlier and it again shows strong terroir; river pebbles, minerality and a perfect balance of acid. We hand-picked around three tonne which will produce about 150 cases, maybe a little more. This wine will be bottled soon and released near the end of the year.
This year, when we picked our eighty-year old semillon, we decided to keep some of it for ourselves. It was picked at 22 baume, and had great acid and a wonderful, natural PH, which maintained its freshness. It had been cordon cut about three weeks prior to picking, and this is what raised the baume. This wine is also in barrel, awaiting its next stage. It may even be bottled as early as September, giving us a sweet sauterne style wine to add to our portfolio. The photo with this blog entry is of James tasting the results of this little venture, about a month ago:)
The Eden Valley Shiraz from the Karra Yerta vineyard was picked on April 5th (a panic pick before the rain, which did indeed come only a matter of hours after we had the grapes safely out of the weather) at around 14.2 baume. The crop was about average in yield, and shows great Eden Valley varietal characters of blueberries, blackberries and stone, and has a perfect natural acid balance. This is also evolving in a French Oak barrel, and will be doing so for the next 18 months at least.
Finally, we managed to again source 3/4 tonne of fine Eden Valley Cabernet. This will be used in our Shiraz Cabernet blend, which going on the past release of the 2006, and shortly, 2007, is very popular indeed.
All in all, our 2010 Vintage has turned out really well and we look forward to being able to share these wines with you in the future. Whilst these are going to be many months wait, the release of the 2008 reds is getting closer, and that is something to very much look forward to!
Our vintage is over. Whether it actually was long, or whether it just felt long, well, I am not sure but it sure has been a busy time. James already has a full-time job (outside of the wines and vines). I now manage and work in a shop (Collective Barossa), as you probably already know. In between, we have harvested, made our products for 2010 and maintained some form of sanity in our house. I am not sure how, but the important thing is that we made it. And by all accounts, the long, hard slog has been worth it on many fronts.
I will write an update on the actual Karra Yerta vintage soon but tonight's entry is on the recent Official Opening of Collective Barossa.
Planning an event during vintage, ie trying to co-ordinate four different wineries, and communicating with guests who are also in the industry (with everyone working endless stints of six or seven days a week, and long hours during those days) can be a huge challenge. When I chose April 10 to be our night to officially celebrate the opening of the Collective Barossa shop, it felt like it was so far away but the weeks went fast, the vintage continued and it was there before any of us realised. Despite the inevitable hiccups that come with such things, we did manage to host a small but pleasant evening which all of our guests will remember.
Approximately 55 people attended on that rainy, misty Barossa autumn night to taste the delicious wines from the four wineries - Karra Yerta, Gumpara, Kurtz Family Vineyards and Smallfry Wines. Wayne from Smallfry and myself took care of the food and made sure that everyone had a delicious feed to compliment the wines. All of the winemakers attended and spent the night mingling with our guests who appreciated the opportunity to meet the Collective group and learn about our wines.
Wine journalist Philip White gave a short but poignant speech on the Collective, the wine industry in general, and also expressed his appreciation of the actual Barossa Museum and its rare and special contents. Three members of the Barossa Valley Archives and Historical Trust attended and gave guests the opportunity to have guided tours or just discuss items in the Museum which gave a nice, personal touch.
Our two teenage sons provided live music in the adjoining courtyard and no-one let the weather dampen their spirits. At the end of the night, all of the Collective group had a hard earned Cooper's Pale Ale after cleaning up, and that is the group photo taken below. The top photo is of our eldest son, Daniel, entertaining us; the second of Mark from Gumpara Wines with his Mum, Bev and step-father, Bruce, and the third, James with local legend, BobMcLean. It really was a great night and a success on all fronts. We look forward to having more Collective Barossa events in the future.
Saturday March 7th, 2010 will be marked in my diary for two poignant reasons; one, it was the day that our almost eighty year-old Eden Valley Riesling vines were hand-picked, and secondly, that it was on that same night (albeit that 2am was really Sunday March 8th), that my new business, Collective Barossa was vandalised for the second time in seven short weeks.
The first episode of vandalism, just three weeks ago, was far less damaging than last night's effort but nonetheless, still, a disrespectful and stupid act. This morning's effort resulted in the opening of the shop being delayed significantly and more than a few hours of intense cleaning of shattered glass. A sad state of our community. I do hope that the perpetrators realise eventually that to intentionally damage any building, let alone one built in 1866 which has stood strong and proud for so many decades, is a terrible thing to do and it should weigh heavily on their conscience.
Also, they should think about the fact that this building, home to a magnificent collection of priceless items, lovingly and consistently tended by the dedicated committee members, all volunteers, and many of them in an older age bracket, theoretically belongs to them also, and will one day in the future belong to their own children i.e. in the community sense. I do hope that the people responsible can be caught and learn a valuable lesson, about others in our small community and also perhaps about themselves. I sincerely thank Don and Irene Ross of the Museum Committee, James of Karra Yerta and Steve of Kurtz Family Vineyards (who both were busy doing pump-overs of their 2010 red wines at the time of my call for assistance) for their help in tidying up the unnecessary mess.
On a brighter note, due to my time being tied up with my business, I didn't have the opportunity to help with the hand-picking of the riesling this year, and must admit, I missed it and don't feel as if I know much about it. However, in saying that, I have been regularly given reports from James who informs me that this year's riesling vintage is a very good one.
The grapes were picked a touch earlier than usual and the crop was above average in tonnage. Only a matter of hours later, a steady light rain (which has returned spasmodically throughout today) started, giving the ranges a much needed, gentle drink. It should help to freshen up the shiraz and semillon vines but I am glad that the riesling was picked before it as that was the variety most at risk of damage being so ripe and ready. The 2010 juice is now under the watchful eye of our riesling winemaker, Peter Gajewski.
Our Barossa Shiraz grapes that we source from the Kalimna/Moppa area were also picked last week, and James has been doing pump-overs on that, morning and night, religiously over the past days. Again, he is making our red wines at Biscay Road Vintners. He is incredibly lucky to be working along side Peter Schell and Jason Schwarz, two exceptionally talented and creative winemakers and general all-round nice guys.
So life is busy, still, but we are working our way through vintage as best we can, with a few curve-balls thrown at us along the journey. We just keep plodding away, hoping that in some way, things will work out. That's all you can do. As my favourite author Hunter S Thomspon used to famously say "Buy the ticket, take the ride". We certainly did, and we certainly are...
It's a lovely winter evening in the Barossa Ranges; the wood fire is going, dinner is cooking, the rain has been gently falling most of the day and I have finally managed to pin down the man of the house to get a 2010 Vintage Report. He's had a long day at the local football so is a little weary but we'll give it a shot anyway:
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