About this time a year ago is when BareRouge first began, so it was only fitting that as another long weekend was upon us in Victoria, we set off on a long road trip to head back to the Barossa Valley.
After our last trip, we knew good coffee would be scarce once we had left the bright lights of Melbourne, so we were well fuelled before we left. With a midnight break in Bordertown we arrived to a beautiful sun filled sky in the heart of the Barossa.
We had arranged to meet with our friend, Dan Standish, who owns
The Standish Wine Company. Since our last visit, Dan had moved the winery from the south of the Barossa Valley in Lyndoch, to his new premises in the north, Nuriootpa. Arriving at the new winery could only be described as 'Grand', a beautiful yet simple stone building at the end of a long driveway surrounded by the autumn vines. We had arranged with Dan to pick up some french oak barrels for our new BareRouge stock, and knowing the quality of product and region the barrels originally come from are a key part in the BareRouge process.
After lunch, and of course a cheeky glass of wine, it was down to business. We showed Dan some sample products we had brought along and he was very taken with the touch and smoothness we had acheived in the BareRouge pieces, bringing out the natural beauty and the grain of the oak. We then headed out back where there was a large selection of barrels for us to choose from and as many as we liked, however, the little 'thinks it's big' Kia Rio could only handle two barrels once we had broken them down. Armed with the right tools, the barrels were soon enough taken apart, assessed, numbered and set out to air, the hard work was done!
The start of harvest had begun, so during the afternoon we had the opportunity to assist Dan & Fraser at Standish Wines. Fresh grapes were being delivered at 3pm, myself, having never been behind the scenes at a winery, took the chance to taste freshly picked Shiraz grapes, mmmmm, and I was amazed at the delicacy of the heavy machinery with the grapes when it came to desteming. Easily becoming engrossed in the heavenly smells of the fresh grapes being pumped into vats for fermentation, it's easy to see how one can become obsessed, with the art of wine making, and I can appreciate why Dan keeps the winery at a size where he is very hands on, as this is his passion.
So after a weekend of tasty wines and delicious fresh produce, including a long lunch at
Vintners Bar & Grill (that is another story), it was time to head back to Melbourne, and start creating more BareRouge pieces.....though not before we finally found a good coffee at Blond Coffee, in the small town of Angaston in the east of the Barossa. There is so much to explore in this stunning part of the world and we will most certainly be back!
