Adelaide

On to Adelaide, Monday. Rent a car and on to Red Heads; our own little winery and our home from home in McLaren Vale. The place is looking smarter. There's a car-park! And a garden of herbs. But the famous sign had a run-in with a tractor and is lying on the ground. So be warned if you are planning an imminent visit. There’s no sign. Though there is an old red tractor sitting on the junction of Kangarilla and Foggo roads. That's it, the new sign?


You can view it on Google Maps.
See two red roofs; that's Red Heads. Justin says he'll get on the roofs and paint 'Red' and ‘Heads’ so it'll be visible from space!

Here, in South Australia, it hasn't rained at all. It’s a burnt and worried land. There is a serious water shortage. You can have water to irrigate your vines. But it costs a lot of money. Some can't afford to. Some can. Some cheat and pinch water. We went to visit the Mouth of the River Murray. Where it flows into the sea. Except it doesn't anymore. There's no mouth.

There's a great deal of interest in vine varieties that don't need so much water. Like "Sangiovaysee, Mate"; (Justin's speciality). And Grenache ('Hoop's' speciality). Spent days rough driving our hire car (it looked like Hell when we returned it) through vineyards and back tracks seeing what was available in the way of unusual old fruit. Old vineyards that have somehow survived the regular bouts of uprooting and re-planting and which now could represent a sort of national treasure. There are these old Touriga, Bastardo and Tinta Negra Mole vineyards at the top end of Barossa, just round the back of the huge new Wolf Blass plant. Portuguese grapes … probably just what's needed for drought conditions. How did they survive? Well, Justin's on the case and we saw how they are being re-pruned (lower yields) re-wired and posted. Justin wants to call the resulting wine when it arrives; 'Night of the Living Red'. The wines that came back from the dead, you see. Very Justin, that.

Now, about Hoops; (Adam Hooper); Chief Winemaker at Red Heads as Justin travels the world selling the wines. Hoop's own brand is 'La Curio', which is now available on the front-of-plane

Quantas wine list as well as trendy bars and us. Hoops was named South Australian Winemaker of the Year by Decanter magazine. He's grown his hair and 'Musketeers' style facial hair since his stint for us, Flying Winemaking in St Tropez last summer. St Tropez has that effect on people. So he looks sort of ... Wicked! But he isn't really. Humble and modest he still drives - and possibly lives in - a beat-up old green camper van; hippy-fashion. Am watching him dart about the tub fermenters as the harvest starts to arrive. He has Mitch from a wine shop in Calgary and Kurt, his agent in Queensland as this years cellar-rats. Spouting poetry as he goes, and always trying something new, this boy is an artist. He just described how he chilled his juice so hard in an attempt to keep more fruit flavour. "Basically, I make a one ton sorbet and try to ferment it'" That's our Hoops!

There's more fruit from the Barossa this year as they seem to have had an exceptionally good vintage. Fruit (you don't say 'grapes' if you are a winemaker) is more expensive than last year due to last year's shortages. But there are hopes that this year's (relative) abundance could cause prices to drop towards the end of harvest. We have a presentation from Justin on how things are going. Very well, with booming sales in the USA and now Australia. But it seems I haven’t been telling his story enough in the UK … “you’re lagging behind, mate!” The long saga of trying to get a bar licence is in its fourth year. But we are now down to just replacing some broken flooring. So maybe by next year! They laid on a dinner to show just what they will be able to do. A fantastic evening. We also ate extremely well at the new Saltbush Bistro on the seafront at Aldinga Beach, as well as old favourites; the Star of Greece, Fino (in Willunga), the Victory Inn and Market 190 in McLaren Vale High Street. You are spoilt for choice here. And it’s getting better. We just missed being taken to the Salopian Inn by Nat McMurtrie (Pikkara Wines) who was born there - in the Inn!Saturday, Rod Stewart did a concert on the property next door. Advertised as 'On the Green' it was more like 'In the Dust' what with the drought.

Visited lots of wineries. Outstanding was Chapel Hill – the winery of the even more award-bedecked Michael Fragos. He used to be head winemaker at Tatachilla and made us so many wonderful wines until it was sold and production ceased in McLaren Vale. He has class does Michael; polished wines of great class.

Also Scarpantoni, in McLaren Flat, all cock-a-hoop at winning the Oz wine equivalent of the FA Cup; the 'Jimmy Watson Trophy'. The brothers grow all their own grapes, and it’s still a family-owned, mid-sized winery of the type which was becoming a rarity when the mega-groups were going round buying them all up. That unfortunate trend now seems over and there is the happy sight of quite a few new independent wineries opening up. The boys do a great unoaked chard but their white specialty is Sauv Blanc. We tried the sensational fermenting juice/wine; all milky white. Its something the consumer never sees unless he goes to one of the 'Heureige' winery-bars around Vienna in October, or risks exploding his insides with the ' Bourru' of Bordeaux.

I always wished I could give customers a taste of this dangerous delight but how can you bottle something that's fermenting like crazy? Michael and Fillippo Scarpantoni always joked about winning the Jimmy Watson when they and their parents started up back in the early 80's. They went so far as to tempt fate by naming their first vineyard; 'J.W. (Jimmy Watson) Brothers Block'! 20 years later, they actually earned the right! (The late Jimmy Watson had a wine bar in Carlton, Victoria and put up this trophy for the Best One Year Old Red in Australia).

Also visited Lou – and daughters – Miranda's place in Barossa. The Miranda Brothers were almost our earliest suppliers in Oz. Then they too got bought out. But they - or the next generation Miranda's - are starting up again. Good to see. The old guys can still do it.

Postscript.

The last four days we were there the temperature shot up to 38 C. And stayed there. We've been home in the UK 10 days now. And apparently its still 38 in the Vale. Longest heatwave ever. And its supposed to be Autumn there. The latest fruit to come in had a potential alcohol over 20%!!! I don't think anyone ever got a wine to ferment out that strong. It’d make good port though.

But as we seem to be saying all the time now; what is happening to the world?