Natura Wine

We received a package from Banfi Wines out of the blue a while back, which to our delight was a couple bottles of wine. Now before we opened the package there was a few moments where we were wondering what wine this may be as Banfi has a fairly large portfolio of labels.

For our drinking pleasure we received some NATURA wine made from the grapes of the organic vineyards of EMILIANA.

From the EMILIANA and NATURA website the story of the grapes... "Located in the main valleys vineyards of Chile, Emiliana is characterized by producing only organic and biodynamic wines, so that helps preserve the natural balance of life, human beings and the environment. Producing wines in this way makes these at the end more healthy, unique and of better quality. At Emiliana, the organic vineyards literally teem with life.  Vineyards buzz with various bugs, bees, birds and native wildlife that together provide a natural and effective defense against common vine-destroying insects.  Flowers and native plants thrive throughout the organic vineyards, providing another simple and cost-effective method of pest control and helping to counteract the detrimental effects of soil degradation.  The use of chemicals is shunned, in favor of natural compounds, such as copper and nitrogen.  Compost is sourced from spent grape skins and stems.  Emiliana’s Natura range, which celebrated its U.S. debut in 2006, marks the cutting edge of an altogether new category of wines made from organically grown grapes – a collection of superbly made, affordably priced organic wines crafted expressly for everyday enjoyment and, accessible to all. The Natura collection features seven varietals, three whites and four reds, all produced from hand-picked, organic grapes, harvested from certified organic vineyards in the prime growing regions of Chile’s Central Valley."

And so it was that we were about to taste a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Rosé made with organic grapes from Chile.

First off it was a nice warm California arvo so we cracked the cap on the Rosé. This is a light, light Rosé. Soft red berry fruit flavor with very little nose. This is best served a little warmer so the nose and flavors come out. But as an early arvo sip it is better at the cooler range. For the **** price (technically 8 stars) it is a good value drop that we rate a 5. According to the info vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks with gentle pump overs and delicate lees stirring. The Rose is aged for 3 months in stainless steel tanks and is filtered prior to bottling.

Next up it was into the Cabernet. This wine was definitely way more substantive with a nice aroma of dark fruits which carry to the palate with some red fruit having a secondary role. A medium body that has a light to medium palate weight with a soft smooth finish. Great value and bats well above its price point and at **** 's it rates a 6.

The story on this Cabernet is that the 'must' is transferred to temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks for a cold soak before undergoing alcoholic fermentation with gentle low-volume pumpovers. The wine then undergoes malolactic fermentation. 20% of his wine is aged in oak barrels for 6 months.

Overall good value and both bottles ended empty.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Winemaker for a day...

So recently while visiting home in Adelaide South Australia, an offer was put on the table to participate in tasting and making the barrel selection for the next bottling's and future release of Chardonnay. Oh, and yes it has been said one should not start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. So where were we.

This sounds great I thought as this means now I can maybe influence the owner / winemaker with my finely tuned palate and worldly experience and help make this the best group of Chardonnays ever released by the winery. Seemed simple enough right? Which winery you ask? Don't worry I will let you know which Adelaide Hills producer it is in the end, just stay with me here for a bit.

The night before as the thrill of the impending tasting and decision making was upon me I started to have some doubting thoughts. What? One of the world famous WineWalkabout winos? Ah yes! Lets put into perspective, what has been and what was about to happen are two different animals. Or are they? Drinking wine and giving an opinion is something we all can do. Lets face it, every wanker, tosser and ponce can do that! The doubt comes about not because I am not comfortable giving an opinion, but because this time it could be used. It could actually have an affect on an upcoming release and with that, the economic connection and reputation, positive or negative, of a small family owned winery. Cue butterflies in stomach...


The big morning had arrived and it was into the car for the drive from the eastern suburb of Paradise into the beautiful Adelaide Hills and up to Lobethal on a chilly winters morning. Once the three of us were there and the fire was stoked and coffee and pleasantries were had, a discussion of the process (quite complex due to small volume to blend with) and the expected outcomes were discussed.

Having done blending and tastings before for slightly larger wineries, I had not considered that with an extremely limited amount of commodity, there was a process that made sure we used every ounce to maximum effect and there was sometimes nothing available for the previously used, let me try that last one again to be sure type of scenario. Talk about pressure!

We were preparing to determine the barrel blends for the Premium Chardonnay, the Reserve Chardonnay and a special Winemaker release.

Having tasted and drank many of the last 10 years of releases I knew that the norm was a lovely drinking Chardonnay for both labels and in some years just beautiful. Was this going to be one of the beautiful ones? Could I make the difference (not bloody likely)? Would my taste buds pick the perfect barrel combination that helped get the highest scoring wine in the history of the winery. No... that's just for the movies and books. My contribution was probably more along the lines of, does he ever stop drinking? I need some left to sell!

James and his assistant getting more...

So look, the pressure of trying to be the expert that actually could have a positive financial and reputation affecting influence changed the feeling of the game in ways that were previously not anticipated. It made me think about how some of us in the 'wine review / writing' brigade may not put a lot of real thought into just what we may be doing to those that are on the financial edge doing what they love. Of how some of the more influential wine writers can truly make and or break a family owned business. Look we try to tell it as we taste it, with an eye towards being kind and yet telling the truth. These thoughts were heady stuff coming out of a weekday morning tasting a few barrels of Chardonnay that will not see the light of day for another year.


I would like to thank James Tilbrook for his kind invitation and tolerating me tossing my opinion around like I had skin in the game. It was a wonderful experience to work side by side and compare the subtleties of our differing perceptions and on occasion our confirmation of each other. Cant wait to taste the these wines upon their release sometime in the future and I hope you like them as much as I did.

James measuring out the blend percentages of Chardonnay

Stop in and visit James at Tilbrook Estate for a bloody fantastic wine maker pizza and a taste of his latest releases. The cellar door is open 12 – 4 Monday and Friday, and 11 -5 Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays, plus most weekdays when James is present. – Please check to see if the sign board is out. On weekends and Public Holidays they serve (to die for) wood oven pizzas and local produce gourmet platters either in the courtyard on fine sunny days or inside amongst the barrels, when it is wet, cold or too windy.

James is a true artisan producer, growing the grapes, making the wine, doing the tasting trials, bottling it, and pouring in the cellar door. Go by, we 'recommend' you do.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

 

Wine tasting and how we learned couth

Tasting with Tossers 

 

Ahhhh wine... We've loved drinking all our lives, but since we started drinking wine and going wine tasting this has brought us into contact with actual people. A lot of whom can talk in full sentences and about a variety of subjects, occasionally with knowledge and intelligence. Often times we find ourselves surrounded by these types at events and gatherings and they are not the type to be impressed by crushing cans on your forehead.

Because of this we've had to learn to behave in public and to pay attention to details like shirts and pants and foot wear. Who knew a good old beer tank, budgie smugglers and thongs were not acceptable attire to go wine tasting in. Adding board shorts didn't help much either. What we discovered, and have become better at, is that it's all about not being uncouth. So yes, with that put on the table, it's all about couth. Wine tasting is all about couth. 

So for those of you who are contemplating entering the world of wine like we did, we have put together this little article to help your transition. Or at least maybe what not to do...

Look we're not wine experts, we are more like wine enthusiasts, doctors really. Wine expert is a bit pretentious, as doctors we are still practicing. Yeah that's it, we are Doctors of wine! 

We think that it's not always the sommeliers and winemakers that get the most out of the wine but the wine drinkers. Winemakers and sommeliers can get too caught up in the science, facts, identification and the understanding, and often fail to enjoy the simple pleasure of putting down a couple bottles and having a good laugh.  Lets face it, the special moment that you smell those wonderful aromas and then that first taste. Ahhh so magical. No concern for vintage or varieties, for maker or region. Just the simple ignorant sensory pleasure of the wine and you. 

We did have to learn to drink in public side by side with strangers and not offend (an ongoing struggle). With our Aussie Kiwi sarcastic and sometimes observational humor we can occasionally confuse the slow, offend the sensitive and titillate the initiated, which then just encourages us even more (wives eyes rolling).

It can be intimidating heading into a cellar door or tasting room. What with all those couth folks talking in a strange tongue. But not to worry, we figured it out and will share our wisdom. 

First off, figure out a couple tasting rooms close to home and plan to pay them a visit. No real dress code requirements just don't wear tank tops guys. Put something on that has at least short sleeves fellas. We nor others want to see or smell your hairy pits. 

Once there it's all pretty bloody simple. Just follow the two S's. Swirl and Sniff. Only two S's? Yes, follow along.

First thing to master so you blend in is the swirl. One of the things we have in the bag, swirling. We can swirl with the best. There are a few different ways to swirl. On the table, from the stem or holding the stem and free handing it. Then there is the cellar door crowd favorite, the from the base wobble. It's all about the wrist. A little practice and you will nail it.

So now you have the wine swirling around in the glass its time to stick you nose in and have a good sniff. Do this a couple times and vary the sniffing enthusiasm to better get all those aromas. See, you got this...

We have learned that the swirling and sniffing is about the smell and the sip is about the taste. You swirl and then you sniff and then you taste. The taste is often referred to as the sip. Therefore the taste is the third 'S', yes three S's. We feel most folks have the taste or sip down before they ever show up at a tasting room so not so important, but yes, three S's if you add the sip. 

Don't be confused that there is a fourth S. Spitting.  Anyone with couth knows it's not polite to spit. It's also an affront to Baccus. 

This is a skill that if you intend to use occasionally should be practiced away from the tasting room and rarely used there. There are so many things that can go wrong here. Spitting and missing, spitting and hitting someone, spiting and dribbling down your face. Besides what a waste of good wine, bugger this, get a designated driver. You can tip it out into the dump bucket if you don't care for it, or if you have had a good enough taste and are done with it.

So all in all as you can see, if we can learn some couth anyone can. Don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy your tasting experiences.

Happy Tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Should everyone have a Little Black Dress?

Its almost always a good day when wine shows up in the mailbox unexpected. This time was no exception.

Opening the box was two bottles for our drinking pleasure. First off the label name. Little Black Dress. 

It brings to mind that sleek slightly fitted cleavage exposing breathtaking cocktail dress that just makes every man take a second look as you walk into the room. Oh and don't forget the strappy high heals either!

This wine is a bit more subtle as in a Little Black afternoon at the park dress. Not that this is a bad thing as that cocktail dress is a few hundred dollars and the afternoon in the park is just a handful of dollars.
The lovely surprise from Little Black Dress wines was a Very enjoyable Chardonnay and an easy drinking Pinot Noir.

The Pinot Noir is an easy drinking and enjoyable wine. With a light soft body and nice flavors of cherry and strawberry, and with an undertone of candied cherry, this wine is like that nice girl next door. You are always happy to see her but she is not the hottie you dream about. Again a great weekday wine because it tastes good and you can afford it whenever you want. Rating **** 5-6.



The Chardonnay is an enjoyable very inexpensive weekday afternoon (mothers little helper) tipple. With a surprisingly nice mouth feel with good flavors of apple and pear and a decent finish it certainly belies its very palatable price by drinking well above its price point. Rating **** 6.

The winemaker behind these Little Black Dress wines is Zidanelia. Born in Texas, raised in Argentina, fluent in Spanish, English and a bit of French (bloody overachiever). Zidanelia earned an Argentinean National Diploma of Oenology while working in the Andes growing region and then served in the cellar at Les Vignerons du Pays d’Enserune in France before coming to California and joining Fetzer Vineyards in Hopland. There she is known simply as Z.

Thanks to the good folks at Little Black Dress wines for sharing with us thee exceptional value wines.

Happy Wine Adventures,
Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Grenache at d'Arenberg, McLaren Vale South Australia

We had a great chat with Chester Osborne of d'Arenberg in McLaren Vale at the First Family of Wine event in San Francisco. It was late in the evening and Chester was telling the story of this old bush Grenache vineyard that they (d'Arenberg) don't do anything to. Nothing? Nothing! We even use a horse drawn wagon and hand harvest the grapes. Sheep take care of the ground crops.

There is an old saying that says 'never let the facts get in the way of a good story'. Well this sounded too interesting to not visit on the upcoming trip to Adelaide South Australia.

Arrangements were made and unfortunately Chester would be gallivanting around Europe but we were to be well taken care of with Vineyard Manager Giulio Dimasi and Senior Winemaker Jack Walton available to take us on a vineyard/winery tour and a taste of some Grenache wines at the Cellar Door.

After meeting Giulio and Jack we climbed into the Ute and headed out to the vineyards. Its the middle of winter in McLaren Vale and the sun is coming out from a little morning fog and as we approach the bush vine Grenache vineyard a mob of roo's give us the "you are in our space look' before hopping of into the next vineyard. The sheep grazing between the rows could not have cared less. We climbed out of the ute and walked into the vineyard with these somewhat decrepit looking gnarly small vines that just happen to be 70 plus years old. After repeating what we remembered from our chat with Chester it became apparent there were a couple minor details that would need some clarification.

Sheep doing their thing in the vineyard.

Look we are as guilty as anyone regards the embellishment of a good story and after a few glasses of wine and some laughs who is not going to go for more. Besides who knew that a couple of wine wankers would actually go check out a story that is set on the other side of the world. Sorry we had to bust your awesome story Chester but that's how we roll. We want the real story out there. So look, here's the thing, the only bust in the story is the fact that the vines are pruned, hand pruned to be sure but they are pruned.. Other than that the rest of the story about that we do not do anything is pretty close. No herbicides. No pesticides. No machinery. No tractors. Pretty much if the sheep cant do it, it is not done. It truly is a minimalist approach to vineyard management and a management model that would make most vineyards seem over worked.

Giulio looking on as Jack gets a taste going. 

These stunted gnarly old bush Grenache vines are something to behold and the story is a good one. They really do almost nothing to the vineyard. Hand prune. Let the sheep and kangaroo's in and pick the grapes by hand. Haul out the grapes with a horse drawn wagon. That's it. so next up is how does the wine taste from this vineyard and how does it compare to the other Grenache that D'arenberg make taste. But first it was a tour of the facilities and a taste right from the barrel. Tasted some 2014 from the barrel and cant wait for it to be bottled. Shaping up nicely.

The lineup of Grenache from d'Arenberg is impressive. No two are alike and the characteristics of each will capture your attention.

First up was the 2012 The Custodian Grenache, a 100% McLaren Vale Grenache. This is a Grenache for the people. From some really old rejuvenated vines comes a wine that connects to the place and shares that special flavor of one that appreciates getting to be old.

Next was the The Derelict Vineyard Grenache (video with Chester) 2011, 100% McLaren Vale Grenache. The name is reflective of just what these vines have been. Derelict. Chester has become a champion for these old 70 plus year old bush vines and the passion shows in the wonderful flavors that show in this deep and complex wine. With all kinds of red fruit and floral notes of rose and violet as well as a wonderful white pepper the palate follows nicely with those same strong red fruits and a tart acidic kick with a nice tannin drawn out finish. Spend a little time with this wine and it will slowly tell you more stories with a subtle minerality and some spice notes revealing themselves. This is a wine with some charismatic character.

Last but not least a Grenache blend The Bonsai Vine Grenache Shiraz Mourvédre 2010
Grenache 48% Shriaz 42% Mourvèdre 10%. This is an intense wine, one that is in a hurry to get your attention and will do best with a little decant or a few more years. That being said it is also a great wine to be drinking with food and has strong character and big flavor. For it's intensity it is quite well balanced and an engaging drop.

Next up was  some more expensive Grenache or Grenache blends and the superlatives keep coming. The Ironstone Pressing and The Beautiful View. Nice!

Thanks to Chester for setting up the crew to show us around and to Giulio and Jack for showing us around these amazing old vineyards and for the great tasting. To anyone near the McLaren Vale area head on over to the d'Arenberg Cellar door and check out these wonderful wines., we recommend you do!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

 

Who cares about packaging? ProWine!

Who cares about packaging? Most don't, but some do. Those that do, do so for a variety of reasons. For some its as simple as the attractive label and for others its about closures. Most of us never even consider the shipping boxes or the choice of how many cases high you stack a pallet.

Look, if you are a small or relatively small producer just getting wine into bottles can be a big deal. The mobile bottling trucks are good but may not be your best bet. What about labels and caps and box's and then storage, short or a little longer term. The hassle of some of the regulatory process or what if you want some 187ml bottles or a 27 liter large format done or both? Who would you turn to?

One section of the massive warehouse.

If you are in Adelaide South Australia or near vicinity it might just be Prowine.

Recently, while on a visit to South Australia, an offer to tour this state of the art bottling, packaging and shipping facility was on offer. The idea was intriguing. So off to Pro Wine it was.

Prowine is a contract wine bottler established in 2004, and they have been servicing the wine industry ever since.

There is that slip sheet!

They provide pretty much a one stop shop for wine makers, from wine unloading, pre-post wine analysis, bottle, label, cap to carton, etc.

Since they are sharing their site with Nuriootpa traders, they have an advantage where they can do onsite container loading for customers as well. One of their advantages compared to other South Australian bottlers is their QA staff. They have very strict QA standards and staff checking the products on line periodically. All results are documented and the lot code on the bottle allows traceability just in case there is any problem in the future.

Pallets of four high and three high

They also take small orders, and like to encourage boutique wineries in the wine industry. Their passion and professionalism has allowed Prowine to grow and they have acquired lots of loyal customers, e.g. Rockford Wines, Elderton, Hentley Farm, Pikes, etc. due to the consistent customer satisfaction.

Air bags to keep stuff from moving

They also have a number of tricks that are quite amazing. The advent of the slip sheet that reduces shipping costs by eliminating the pallet and stacking the cases some 4 high and some three high each shipping container is loaded to the max.

Walking around in the massive warehouse is an amazing adventure as you see pallets moving all over and bottling lines cranking and even a custom packaging project underway.

 The diversity of projects undertaken here is quite amazing. One of the most amazing accomplishments is the ability to keep the waste in the bottling process to about one percent. The industry average is two to four percent. Take a relatively small - medium sized producer having 10,000 cases bottled. In theory that's 90,000 liters of wine, but waste 2% by over filling and you are now 1,800 liters short or  200 cases. If its a $30 a bottle wine you just lost $72,000.00 in sales.

Entering the lab

The Lab

ProWine will give professional advice when it comes to bottling and packaging. They will organize standard corks, closures and bottles but will also use customer supplied items. The primary focus is to make sure the product is in its best form after bottling and all transportation and freight process have occured.

For example, due to the increase in China exports they are trying to educate people through Chinese social media about the importance of good bottling and packaging and how it would make such a difference, i.e, Corks may not be the best closure for wine especially when the wine is travelling across the equator. This would apply to the USA market as well. They would like to get the message out there and the reason is they hope that people will get a chance to taste the best of South Australian Wines in the condition that the winemaker wants you to.


Happy Wine Adventures,
Cheers,

WineWalkabout

One of the bottling lines

Four wineries, one wine, and a good cause.

CONCORDIS

 

FOUR BAROSSA WINEMAKERS UNITE TO PROVIDE WINE INDUSTRY TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT FOR LOCAL YOUTH.

Collectively wanting to make a difference to the community, Ed Peter, Warren Randall, Pete Kight and Michael Twelftree decided to make a charity wine; from this Concordis was born.

Teaming up with Foundation Barossa, Concordis will see Kaesler Wines, Seppeltsfield Wines,

Purchased ours at Torbreck Cellar Door

Torbreck Vintners, and Two Hands Wines unite together to combine one tonne of their finest Shiraz grapes each year to create a unique cuvée.

Producing 1600 magnums annually, all proceeds from the sale of Concordis will go to a perpetual education fund through Foundation Barossa, which will then provide ongoing financial support and training opportunities in cellar operations and viticulture for financially disadvantaged, local youth.
The project aims to raise over $700,000 over the initial four years, which will finance two traineeships at each of the wineries beginning in January 2016.

Débuting at a launch event held at FINO Seppeltsfield on Friday 21st August 2015, the first vintage of Concordis is from 2014 and will be available for purchase through each individual cellar door, their online stores or the Concordis website.

 Support this great initiative. Purchase Concordis today

CONCORDIS – www.concordisbarossa.com.au
FOUNDATION BAROSSA – www.foundationbarossa.org.au
TWO HANDS WINES – www.twohandswines.com
SEPPELTSFIELD WINERY – www.seppeltsfield.com.au
KAESLER WINES – www.kaesler.com.au
TORBRECK VINTNERS – www.torbreck.com

 

The words above are from the Concordis page on all of the wineries websites (pictures are ours). We could have written our own story but why say the same thing with different words. This is a great cause and the team that has put this together is to be commended and supported for and in this endeavor. On our scale this is a Must do. Go get yours and support a great cause and enjoy top class wine from first class people.

Happy Tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

 

A day on the farm, Hentley Farm Barossa Valley

For those of you who have been following along, you know we have recently had a tasting and a master class with wine maker Andrew Quin of Hentley Farm from the Barossa Valley South Australia. The first tasting and the first time we met Andrew was in Carmel California at Southern Latitude Wines. He was on a world tour promoting Hentley Farm wine and upon tasting the current releases we were reminded of why we liked Hentley Farm wines. Jump forward a month or so and upon arriving in Adelaide South Australia for a visit, we once again ran across Andrew as he presided over a master class at the National Wine Center in Adelaide.
Too much Hentley Farm? Not even close. While chatting all things wine with Andrew he invited us up to the current Australian Wine Companion Winery of the year located in the Barossa Valley for a look around the vineyards, the winery, some barrel tasting, a tasting of the new releases and lunch at the award winning Hentley Farm Restaurant. There was no way this opportunity was going to get by us! We may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night...

We met Andrew at the cellar door and it was inside for a warm up taste of some lovely Eden Valley Riesling. Once Andrew had got things going it was off for a cruise around the vineyards.
Set on the red-brown soils of the western Barossa Valley, Hentley Farm founders Keith and Alison Hentschke (not related as far as we know) acquired the 150 acre vineyard and mixed farming property in the 1990s following extensive research to find out where the best red wine grapes in the Barossa Valley were being produced. During the researching of areas their studies led them towards the rich red and brown soils of the Seppeltsfield area. Keith used an old soil map from the 1950s to strategically locate the best parcels of land and after a number of years acquired Hentley Farm.

The Hentley Farm story is very short by some Barossa Stories but the with a focus on perfecting the vineyards, the first wines weren’t even released from the property until 2002. The estate was extended with the purchase of the neighboring high quality Clos Otto block in 2004 (nice purchase by the way).

The most noticeable thing about the vineyards is the abrupt soil transitions and the surprisingly large elevation differences. One of the terms that came up in conversation with Andrew was 'winegrowers'. At Hentley Farm their philosophy is to grow great grapes and then just guide them along to be the wine nature intended. Thinking about that statement and after driving through the various vineyards it seems like a natural term. What at first seems a little strange makes total sense once you have tasted the wines and looked at the vineyards they came from. The range of wines are definitely each very unique and with names like The Beauty and The Beast, the wines reflect those differences.

After a number of tastes from barrels it is easy to see how these wine evolve. So beautifully structured and balanced. Next up was a tasting of the current release and a couple special wines inserted, well because Andrew wanted to. Thank goodness he did. Sitting in the Tally room tasting these amazing wines was a great opportunity and to do it and discuss opinions and observations with Andrew made it even better. Andrew is an astute and gifted winemaker and is one to keep an eye on. Not only that, he is a genuine nice bloke.
With a range of wines that are continually earning awards from all over the world what more could you want? How a bout adding a world class restaurant to the cellar door experience!

The stables at Hentley Farm, originally built in the 1880s overlooking Greenock Creek, have been beautifully restored and converted into a wonderful contemporary yet still rustic dining room.
Head chef Lachlan Colwill offers two set menu options, the Discovery menu and the du Jour menu, which are created according to what is abundant, fresh, and of the highest quality. He has a strong focus on harvesting produce from the farm’s 150 acres, including foraged ingredients growing wild, as well as fruit, vegetables and herbs grown in the garden beds and orchard at the property.

All the wines that are beautifully matched with the menus are from the Hentley Farm portfolio, and some are unique to the dining experience only.

The Hentley Farm Restaurant is a member of the prestigious Relais et Chateux Association, one of only five in Australia, and since opening in May 2012 have been awarded:

• “Best Restaurant in a Winery” category at the coveted 2014 SA Restaurant & Catering Awards.
• South Australia’s Best Restaurant of the Year and Best Regional Restaurant in the Advertiser 2013 Food Awards.
• Named Best New Restaurant at the SA Restaurant & Catering Awards 2013 and awarded four forks in The Advertiser Food Guide 2014

 

No small accomplishment, and after having a good feed with the du jour menu, taking about two hours, we can only agree that this place is simply amazing. The menu is not based on the food components that I would choose, but having no choice I ate it, and I was totally in food and wine heaven. The menu changes based on seasonally available ingredients, but rest assured it will be wonderful and delicious.

Thanks to Andrew and the Hentley Farm and Hentley Farm Restaurant team for making our day so special. Seriously, a 'must do' if you can get to the Barossa Valley.

Happy Tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout