It takes bold innovators and people with vision to stake a claim where others fear to tread, without Elvis, the Beatles post-LSD or all around weird genius Mike Patton of Faith no More, there would be many a contemporary band that simply would not exist.
Eric and Jenny Semmler certainly fit this mould. Take a horticulturalist and a pharmacist and the South Australian Riverland and you’d think you'd be in line for some first rate oranges maybe? But throw in around 40 years of wine industry experience and what you end up with is some first rate vino! Founded in 1999 and first planted in 2001 on a patch of Glossop’s finest soil with a serious intent to bring unique and seldom seen varietals to the fore front.
With a selection more in the World Music section of your local record store than the top 20 chart hits the range includes varietals like Tempranillo, Vermintino, Durif, Touriga, Petit Manseng and a Pale Dry Apera. The latter adding to a growing list of accolades for 919 when the Adelaide Review Hottest 100 chaired by James Erskine named it Wine of the year in 2011. Following on the success story Eric was named Winestate Magazines winemaker of the year for 2013. I guess oranges ain’t oranges after all!
Meet the 919 guys at winedirect.com.au’s Through the Tasting Glass - Curiouser & Curiouser tasting at the national wine centre on the 10th of May 2014.
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