Samuel Smith migrated from Dorset England to Angaston in the colony of South Australia circa 1847, he took up work as a gardener with George Fife Angas, the virtual founder of the colony. In 1849, Smith bought thirty acres and planted vines by moonlight, the first ever vintages of Yalumba. One of his most enduring legacies were some unique clones of Shiraz, which were ultimately sown to the illustrious Mount Edelstone vineyard in 1912. Angas's great grandchild Ron Angas acquired cuttings from the Edelstone site and migrated the precious plantings to his pastures at Hutton Vale. The land remains in family hands, a graze for flocks of some highly fortunate lamb. In between the paddocks, blocks of Sam.. The return of rootstock to garden of eden»

Graeme Melton and a mate were travelling across South Australia in 1973, their EH Holden was in dire need of maintenance and Graeme took up casual work at a passing winery. The site supervisor was Peter Lehmann and young Graeme had his epiphany on the road to Barossa Valley. Lehmann suggested that Graeme change his name to Charlie and take the pilgrimmage to Vallee Rhone. Charlie became prepossessed with the culture of old vines Grenache, Shiraz and Mourverdre. He returned to the Barossa, at a time when old vineyard fruit was made into flagon Port and growers were destroying their historic sites in return for government grants. Charlie emabarked on a crusade to conserve and restore the ancient vines,.. Melton makes a mean mourvedre»

Somewhere near the Seaview end of McLaren Vale's Chapel Hill Road, a perfunctory passerine perched her pincers astride a pair of power poles and saw herself alit. Down she went amongst the dry grown branches of an old Grenache vineyard, setting the valuable veterans ablaze. The scorched site eventually came to the attention of a winemaking trio, the Messrs Leske, Tynan & Cooke, Masters of Wine and a venerable vintner, all driven by a consuming passion to make greater Grenache. Thistledown vintage very small amounts of the most extraordinary Grenache. Beautifully detailed and conspicuously elegant, their floral bouquets and graceful finish emulate the aromatic lift and peacock's tail of a prettily.. Polly & the pyre to paradise»

The Australian winemaking industry is grateful to Leontine O'Shea, instrumental in the establishment of Mount Pleasant wines, she sent her son Maurice to France for an education in viticulture right at the outbreak of World War I, gifting him his first Hunter Valley vineyard in 1921. Mount Pleasant are now custodians of some grand old sites, a canon of small, elite blocks of vine that yield a precious range of icon wines, which represent peerless value and readily disappear before release of the following vintage... The legacy of grand old hunter valley vineyards»

Gary and Nick Farr are father and son, they make wine together but aren't afraid to go head to head when their opinions differ. Nick grew up amongst some of the world's most sacred vineyards, he knows about the land and found a magnificent little site, barely east of Lake Colac. Irrewarra is the vigneron's shangri-la, prepared for viticulture by generations of grazing and eons of the sobering south sea breezes, which stimulate vines to yield meagre harvests of parched little grapes, sleek of tannin and rich in flavour. Vintaged in excruciatingly limited lots, there are fully two styles of Irrewarra on offer, a grapefruit and oyster shell Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir of pasture and of place, both finished to delight the senses and to excite the most.. It's irrewarra by farr»

There are but two winemakers who can lay claim to a staggering four Jimmy Watson Trophy victories. Wolf Blass was the man behind the label. John Glaetzer was the man behind Wolf Blass. While working for Wolf, Glaetzer was moonlighting on his own brand, applying the same extravagance of technique to the pick of Langhorne Creek fruit. Perfection in the form of black bramble fruit, muscular yet affable tannins, all framed by the luxury of ebony oak. Aspirants of the great Black Blass Label fables of 1974, 1975 and 1976, are privately advised to avail themselves of John's Blend, Cabernet or Shiraz. Crafted from the same parcels, in the same way, by the same hands, that collaborated to create, the most celebrated triumphs in the history of our nation's.. Timeless mystique of langhorne creek»

Planted to the tranquil Shangri-La of a sun warmed slope in Yarra Valley, TarraWarra was established 1983 by the founders of the Sussan and Sportsgirl brands. Philanthropists and patrons of the arts, Mr and Mrs Besen, AO and AO respectively, took a highly aesthetic approach to the pursuit of viticulture. Healthy soils and happy fauna were the means to an end, good wine comes from a sound ecology, but great wine needs the inspiration of a holistic engagement with the arts. It is here at Healesville that habitues can savour the Sauvignon while immersing themselves amongst the work of our national masters. A costly collection of canvas by our merry Messrs Boyd and Whiteley, Drysdale, Brack and Pugh, presenting the most opulent environment, to sip and.. Take the trek to tarrawarra»

Excruciatingly low yields, a ruthless hand sorting of fruit, ferments in new oak barrels and twenty months maturation, Bowen Estate are one of Coonawarra's most prestigious marques, maintaining a standard of excellence which merits inclusion into the highly prestigious Langtons Classification of Australian Wine. Essential for every enthusiast of stellar quality Cabernet Sauvignon, brought within easy reach this week at the down to earth.. Excellent langtons classification of australian wine»