If I reach back through the decades I can find myself in the Barossa in Penfold’s Kalimna Vineyard with John Duval, then the company’s chief winemaker and in charge of producing its most fabled wine — a red known as Grange.
He aims his boot at a gnarled old shiraz vine, which gives way at ground level and is left hanging from the supporting trellis.
“Who’d plant vines out here?” he asks, before answering the question himself: “We would, because the vine I’ve just kicked over represents the heart of Grange, the very essenvce of a great Australian red.”
The answer to why the vines are so good lies partly in the scrubbiness of the adjoining golf course, which incidentally has been developed by members into one of the state’s finest.
An accommodation cottage at Seppeltsfield.
The rough is scrubby, because we’re at the very northern edge of the Barossa, where the valley gives way to scrub — to almost desert.
I seem to remember the greens being sand, but that could just be my mind playing games.
A few hours later were in the town of Nuriootpa, known to the locals simply as ‘Noori’, at the enormous Penfolds winery.
I say ‘enormous’ because that’s exactly what it is. This, and the Jacob’s Creek winery in neary Rowland Flat, represent industrial-scale winemaking.
Penfolds Grange: a fabled red.
That’s the Barossa’s conundrum — it’s both industrial and boutique, capable of being home to some of my favourite wines and wineries, yet home also to monolithic giants that represent the opposite end of the winemaking spectrum.
And I must confess to being a devout lover of its boutique end, even if some of that end — represented by the likes of Seppeltsfield and Yalumba isn’t all that ‘boutique’ after all.
I love the valley’s style — most of the time. I love its wines, its characters, its history. its produce, its villages, and generally its village-like atmosphere.
I keep being drawn back to it, and throughly enjoy being drawn back to it, and to constantly discovering new aspects of it.
Yalumba: a piece of Australian wine history.
I love being surrounded by casks of port from every vintage since 1878, when Benno Seppelt, eldest son of Silesian-born Seppeltsfield founder Joseph, laid down a barrel of his best to commemorate the opening of the family’s new cellar.
There are European wineries with older wines than this, but nowhere is there a collection that can match the Seppeltsfield continuum.
I find the cask of 1949, my birth year, and am rewarded with a taste. The wine is a deep golden tawny colour and sticks to the side of the glass.
The Barossa Valley: one of my favourite places.
Attempting to describe such an elixir in terms of other flavours is simply doing it an injustice. Let’s just say that it’s complex, multi-layered and absolutely delicious.
Probably the best place to appreciate the strength of the valley’s food culture is the Barossa Farmers Market, held each Saturday morning in Vintners Sheds on the outskirts of Angaston.
It’s a lively, friendly place where bakers, cheesemongers, smallgoods manufacturers, butchers, olive growers, breeders of game birds, orchardists, gardeners and purveyors of various condiments trade cheek by jowl and compete with each other in spruiking the invaluable role of the Barossa as one of Australia’s great premium food bowls.
The Barossa Farmers Market: traders spruik the area’s invaluable role.
But to fully appreciate the Barossa’s history — at to realise why cricket will never be the same since the elimination of the Sunday rest day — take a stroll through the Yalumba cellars.
And do have lunch at Maggie Beer’s Farm Eatery. Australia’s favourite foodie and cook — she rejects the term ‘chef’ because of her lack of formal training — has certainly maximised leverage of her substantial talents and knowledge.
Everything seems to be gorgeously packaged and branded with her name. Visitors could easily spend a couple of hours browsing the shop and spending a small fortune.
The food is everything you would expect — rustic, full-flavoured and hearty. And there are also regular cooking classes.
You’ll soon see why I love the valley so passionately — and why I keep being drawn back to it.
IF YOU GO
Yalumba — 40 Eden Valley Rd, Angaston 5353; phone (08) 8561 3200; visit www.yalumba.com.
Seppeltsfield Winery —730 Seppeltsfield Rd, Seppeltsfield 5355; phone 08 8568 6217; www.seppeltsfield.com.au.
Barossa Farmers Market — every Saturday 7.30am to 11.30am, phone 0402 026 882; barossafarmersmarket.com.
The Farm Eatery, 50 Pheasant Farm Rd (via Samuel Rd), Nuriootpa 5355; phone (08) 8562 1902; visit www.maggiebeer.com.au.
Barossa Valley Tourism — phone 1300 852 982; www.barossa.com.
Written By JOHN ROZENTALS
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