The best way to get to the Barossa Valley, Australia’s largest quality wine region, is to fly directly to Adelaide first. The city of Adelaide has a wonderfully vibrant, cosmopolitan feel, well worth a couple of days’ stopover to get oriented and glean some advice from the locals on places to visit while in the region. If your preference is to get right into the heart of wine country, then there’s a lot to encounter, beginning with a 55km drive north-east from downtown Adelaide. There are dozens of places to visit, one recent addition in McLaren Vale being the d’Arenberg Cube, a multi-level floating-illusion building. The site includes a tasting room, dining and many art pieces throughout.
Throughout the region there are over 150 other wineries and easily 80 tasting venues to choose from, all surrounding the towns of Lyndoch, Tanunda, Angaston and Nuriootpa. The region enjoys cool nights, summers can be very warm and dry, and winters are cold, so be sure to pick the season that best suits. There are many welcoming faces and places open throughout the year. The wine sector in the Barossa Valley is over 175 years old, some vines are at a similar age and still producing – grenache and shiraz in particular. Other principal varieties include cabernet sauvignon, mourvèdre, chardonnay and semillon.
In the heart of the region surrounding the town of Tanunda some of the more familiar names in wine are located, including Grant Burge, Turkey Flat, Langmeil Winery and Tin Shed Wines. There are many more in between here and Nuriootpa including Kaesler, Elderton, Two Hands, Torbreck, and Penfolds. Around Angaston you’ll find Irvine, Henschke, Eden Hall and Yalumba.
These wineries are among many high-quality producers, not only for their outstanding wines, but for their commitment to quality, range, heritage, and stories of sustainability.
The Yalumba story
Yalumba is a great example. Through six generations of winemakers first established in 1849 by Samuel Smith, it is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery. I have a 3-pack of ‘The Caley’ 2013, 2014 & 2015 – a cabernet shiraz blend from Yalumba wines, in my cellar. They are still aging and developing, a testament to the grape growing and attention to detail in winemaking, delivering red wine of concentration, power and complexity. They’re named after Fred Caley Smith, grandson of Samuel, whose research and travels delivered important horticultural developments and the foundation of sustainable viticulture and winemaking within Yalumba and the region.
Throughout South Australia the voice of shiraz and cabernet individually and as a red blend have become signature to the region; so too have the GSM blends (grenache, shiraz, mourvèdre). The cabernet shiraz blend is a style that Yalumba have been practising since the 1800s.
Not just a signature style for the region, it is a style that defines what can be achieved when an understanding of site, soil and vintage are fully embraced. Yalumba’s ‘The Signature’ is the result of perfecting the blend in a style that is consistent.The wine is rich, perfumed and powerful with flavours of blackberries, black cherry, liquorice and lifted herb qualities, a whisper of mint and chocolate, big tannins and delicious mouthfeel. ‘The Octavius’ is another of the fine reds. A shiraz-only wine including juice from vines dating back to 1854, matured in octave barrels made at Yalumba’s cooperage, this wine is powerful with black cherry and myriad chocolate flavours, velvet tannins and a backbone of acidity.
Yalumba began their dedicated barrel-making cooperage in the 1890s and is the only winery in the Southern Hemisphere with an onsite working cooperage. From importing the wood and seasoning it on site, they have full control over every aspect of the wood-to-wine integrations. You cannot fashion together a wine barrel without significant experience and practice: it takes many years to perfect. Kym Venning has been building wine barrels at Yalumba for over 30 years; he’s only just beginning his tenure, some say.
Yalumba have built their legacy on red wines, yet they also produce one of my favourite everyday drinking white wines, viognier. The Virgilius is distinctive and concentrated with perfumed aromatics, floral and fleshy with flavours of white apricot, apple and fragrant spices, satin texture and long finish; while the Eden Valley expresses purity and polish.
Sustainability has become an important concept and practice across the Barossa region, mitigating the effects of climate change. Unexpected seasonal challenges are part and parcel of agriculture.
Leading the team
Born in the Barossa, Yalumba Chief Winemaker Sam Wigan embodies the label’s philosophy, with a love for bringing people together, storytelling, generosity, and the enjoyment of fine wine.
Industry legends
Winemaking is an art as much as it is a skill. This is evidenced across the many styles and voices of place throughout the Barossa Valley area. Leaders in the industry such as Henschke, Hewitson, Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Torbreck, Two Hands and Yalumba have delivered cornerstone wines, benchmarks for Australia and the region and gathered many loyal followers over decades.
Behind the glory of these wines are the winemakers who best understand the voices of land and grape. At Yalumba, the winemaking team has a lot of gravitas in the industry. From a winemaking family, Head Winemaker Sam Wigan began his tenure in 2001, becoming the lead in 2023. He is instrumental in bringing together the first Yalumba Museum release wine for the 175th year celebrations.
Louisa Rose has been with the Yalumba team for over 30 years and has been involved in almost every facet of viticulture, winemaking and management. As Head Winemaker from 2006 to 2022, she delivered many memorable wines, having started as a cellar hand in 1992.
It is impossible to make fine wine without fine grapes, so you need a person with a love and knowledge of the land and understanding of flora to deliver the best material for growing and harvest. At Yalumba this person is Bethany Collins, working closely with the entire vineyard team.
At the heart of all viticulture today should be the practice of sustainability. Yalumba can prove their attachment to sustainability with 43 accolades globally for sustainable practices including sustainable wine growing; SAWIA Excellence Awards – Environmental Excellence Award (Large Business); 2019 SA Wine Industry Association – Environmental Excellence (Viticulture); 2024 – Australia’s first winery to achieve Gold Membership with International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA); and Member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.
The world of wine is complex. The stories behind each label have become as important as the wine itself. The benefits of sustainable farming and organics, knowing where your wine is grown and where the value lies, helps us make informed wine buying decisions. In the Barossa Valley, fine producers like Yalumba and many others tick all the boxes.
An iconic sign-off
Yalumba ‘The Signature’ is an iconic Australian blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. This elegant flagship wine has exceptional structure, rich dark fruit profiles, and outstanding aging potential.
