UK ‘starting to take Aussie wine seriously’

UK consumers are starting to take Australia seriously as a fine wine producer but there is a long road ahead according to one of the country’s premium estates.

Christie Schulz of Turkey Flat

Speaking to the drinks business during a recent visit to London, Christie Schulz, owner of Turkey Flay in the Barossa Valley said: “People are starting to consider us as a fine wine producer but we’ve got a way to go as a few producers are still short changing us.

“If you look at recent winery sales in the Barossa Valley – Casella has bought Peter Lehmann and Accolade has snapped up Grant Burge, which proves that Australia’s big wine companies want a premium estate as part of their portfolio. This isn’t funny money coming from China.”

Gobble:Gobble which got gobbled up in three hours

Schulz believes the next step for the Barossa Valley is to highlight the terroir differences within the region.

“The McLaren Vale is way ahead of the Barossa in telling its terroir story. There are vast differences from north to south in the Barossa.

“The south produces cooler, cleaner wines while the wines from the north are more rich, ripe and jammy in nature,” Schulz told db.

Schulz believes that older vines produce better wines as they have adapted themselves successfully to their environment.

“Old vines don’t show stress so much. The roots are deep so they can withstand the highs and lows and a lack of water better,” she said.

“However, I think the same effect can be achieved with younger vines – by the time a vine gets to around 25 years old it behaves in the same manner as an ‘old’ vine. It’s a matter of pruning correctly and keeping the berry size down,” she added.

Schulz is keen to keep her chief winemaker, Mark Bulman, engaged by allowing him to make one-off experimental bottlings sold via the cellar door.

These have included Gobble:Gobble, a co-fermented blend of 60% whole bunch Shiraz and 40% Grenache. Just 50 cases of the wine were made, which sold out in three hours, perhaps helped by its minimalist, paint-spattered label.

Bulman’s latest experiment is a five-month skin contact Roussane, which, according to Schulz, “filtered itself”.

“We have some new quirky one-offs in the pipeline this year. It’s great to do them as it piques people’s interest and creates a buzz around the brand,” Schulz told db.