1901, FROM FEDERATION The investment in vineyards, winemaking technology, yeast selection and barrel maturation reached a new level of sophistication by the time of Australia’s Federation in 1901. Exports continued to grow. Typically, Yalumba crushed about 1100 tons and produced over 200,000 imperial gallons of wine, each vintage drawing fruit from estate vineyards and growers around the Barossa, including the cool elevated sites of Eden Valley and the warm generous landscape of the Barossa Valley. By the 1900s, capacious cellars were required to store the wines and brandy for extended maturation. Yalumba’s newly built cellars (1908), with the iconic clock tower, and superb barrel storage soon became a symbol of family enterprise and export success. This was highlighted by the construction of a railway between Adelaide and the Barossa Valley, the northern terminal being at Angaston, where Yalumba could load hogsheads destined for the eastern states and the export market. Demand for Yalumba’s claret and burgundy styles, fortified wines, and brandies continued as ‘providence and nature’ established the Barossa’s fame across the British Empire. LIVING HERITAGE Yalumba’s century-old vineyards are the legacy of a thriving export market for South Australian dry red and fortified wines during the late 19 th and early-to-mid 20 th centuries. This is of significance because the pre- phylloxera shiraz vines belong to ancient genetic vine stock brought out to Australia by James Busby in 1832. Although there are cabernet sauvignon plantings dating back to 1888 in the Barossa Valley, it was typical for Australian claret styles to be made from shiraz. When Yalumba planted its vineyards in the 1850s, the cuttings were sourced from Sir William Macarthur’s Camden Park in New South Wales, and from Pewsey Vale and Tarrawatta in the Eden Valley. These ancient Yalumba vines, planted on their own roots, have been nurtured for several generations and form the foundation of the rare The Octavius Shiraz. Penfolds No 1 Claret, Yalumba Claret, Auldana St Henri Claret and Tintara Champion Reserve were the most widely known South Australian dry reds during the 1920s. Although the 1924 Export Bounty Act encouraged wineries to produce fortified wines for markets within
4
The Vintage Journal – Verticals
Powered by FlippingBook