Blog 30: McLaren Vale Winemakers talk & taste Vintage 2011

The tasting underway- Colin Kay (Kay Brothers), Michael Paxton (Paxtons), Paul Carpenter (Wirra), Mike Brown (Gemtree), Greg Clack (Haselgroves), Nick Haselgrove (Australian Winemakers), Shelley Torresan (Yangarra)

Hosted by the fabulous Wirra Wirra tribe, a group of McLaren Vale winemakers gathered today to taste (blind) and talk about their 2011 wines. Some 50 of McLaren Vales finest, from winemaking legend Colin Kay right through to some of our gun cellarhands, bought along a bottle to share, tasted and then discussed over a beer from local brewers Goodieson.

Some of McLaren Vales finest join the discussion- Joch Bosworth (Battle of Bosworth), Justin Lane (Alpha Box & Dice), Jess Hardy & Seamus O'Fathartaigh (Loom Wine), Charlie Seppelt (Tintara), Pete Fraser & Shelley Torresan (Yangarra), Ben Brooks, Bryn Richards (Chapel Hill), even Wirra's winery dog was involved!

 

What a great region to work in where we can all share our wines & experiences, so that we all can grow as individual winemakers and help to improve our region even more. Best comment was from Wirra’s Paul Carpenter- “I just want to make the best wine I possibly can, and I want all of McLaren Vale to be doing the same thing.” Was also happy to hear from Matt Koch & Andrew Hales. These guys get to see fruit/wines from all over Australia with their work for Treasury Wine Estates (new name for the company who owns Penfolds, Rosemount, Wolf Blass, Wynns, Lindemans, etc). They commented that McLaren Vale wines, in particular Cabernet, have stood up extremely well in 2011.

 

Was great to look at the wines from 2011- still sitting in barrel and quite young on their journey. There were some stunning Grenache & Shiraz- and exciting other varietals- I especially enjoyed a very spicy Graciano & a vibrant Barbera.

 

Had me thinking how many years winemaking experience was in the one room- I stopped adding it up when I reached 200 years….pretty exciting stuff.

 

Blog 48- Wirra Wirra Growers Lunch

Beautiful day in the Vale today, and a good one to share with great mates of ours out at Wirra Wirra. We grow grapes for a number of wineries in McLaren Vale and beyond, and we have been working with Wirra Wirra for around 5 years now.

Wirra Wirra is found on Mcmurtrie Road McLaren Vale- or online here. For those of you who havent visited- I highly recommend it. Not only is the cellar door awesome, the staff are very lovely and extremely knowledgeable- but they have brilliant grounds, including a brand new BBQ area and loads of lovely lawn. I was lucky enough to try their new flagship Grenache today- definitely one to watch.

Wirra's Greg Trott 1934-2005

Wirra was established by one of McLaren Vales greats- Greg Trott. A man who was well ahead of his time, always thinking and creating, pushing the boundaries, encouraging McLaren Vale to be present on the world stage- in wine, food, tourism and the arts- as well as being a larrikin with a warm sense of irreverance.

He built a fabulously enormous ‘woodhenge’ fence to welcome visitors, and developed a huge catapult- just for the fun of hurling watermelons across the vineyards! Today the catapult was in full flight- there is nothing that brings out the child-like delight more than using an enormous piece of engineering to hurl a watermelon fly long and high into the sky, and then fall to the ground bursting into a million pieces with a big ‘splat’! Even my 15 month old son was awestruck.

Wirra's Andrew Kay with James Halliday in front of the Catapult

That is a level of fun that doesnt get to happen every day!

Just one more of the great McLaren Vale wineries you shouldnt miss when you are next in McLaren Vale amongst the vines.