Page 2 - Matt Wallace

Year in year out this is one of Australia’s most consistent and consistently underpriced wineries. They offer a level of polish and sophistication we normally (but don’t always) see in reds priced at $50 and over per bottle and are a 5 Star James Halliday rated winery.

Steve was hands on from the beginning, getting his hands dirty with picking, pruning and cellar hand work and planting his own vineyards, building his first winery. 

Jason Schwarz has wine in his DNA, a fifth generation Barossan, he was raised on his parent's vineyard. Firstly, he studied wine marketing, before realising that winemaking was his true calling.

Patrick of Coonawarra are well situated to make exceptional wines. Founder and original wine maker, Pat Tocaciu spent years working as Chief Winemaker for a number of big wineries before buying and settling at a vineyard over 20 years ago in Coonawarra.

The Kaesler family arrived in the Barossa Valley from Silesia in the 1840s and in 1891 purchased land in the Barossa, spending two years furiously planting. They planted 96 acres of Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro, along with a few white varieties. Some of the original Shiraz vines are still producing grapes which provide great intensity and depth to many of Kaesler’s wines.

Kirrihill Wines has been around since the late 1990s when two mates, Sean Edwards and Rob Stanway realised their dream of starting a winery. Both 6th generation Clare locals, they have known each other since they were toddlers. Kirrihill Wines has grown into quite the behemoth with 1,400 acres to draw on and sales in Australia, Europe, USA and China.

Founded in 2005, Murray Street Vineyards (MSV) is set on exceptional vineyards in the Greenock sub region. Currently, MSV farm around 300 acres situated in the celebrated ‘Western Ridge’ of the Barossa, 130 acres in Gomersal, and 170 in Greenock. These acres hold predominantly Grenache and Shiraz vines, dating back to the 1940s and 1960s.

Quite unlike like Miles Raymond in the awesome film ‘Sideways’ … if anyone orders Merlot, I’m staying. I am very happy to drink f%^&ing Merlot!

Chardonnay sits on the fence of many a wine enthusiast. Versatile, kind in nature and oh so compliant, however for most it's still dressed in attire that's so distinctly... 90s. Shoulder pads, overalls and bike shorts saw this particular version of white wine with such a wooded vengeance, we were practically asking the chefs to take the butter out of the meals to make way for it. Thankfully however, times are a changin'. Underneath all that 90s getup reveals elegance and sophistication and Australia is doing its bit to make Chardy interesting again.