CHAPTER 13 | 1900s – Federation
The 1908 vintage was hampered by light yields, and the majority of growers delivered 30–40% less than usual. The winery processed only 700 tons, rather than the usual 1,100 tons. Typically, the winery produced around 200,000 gallons of wine annually. But the annual output of 32,000 gallons of brandy spirit remained because the shortfall was counterbalanced by a surplus of stock. Yalumba had built a part-gravity flow winery on the same terraced design principles as Seppeltsfield. This facility could ferment 48,000 gallons at one time. It also comprised an equivalent storage capacity. A Worthington steam pump conveyed the wine into the cellars a distance away. A new distillery and bond storage had also been built, around 1904, to produce brandy spirit for primarily port production. In addition to its winery operations, Yalumba also had a thriving business preserving fruits, particularly apricots, peaches, pears, apples, plums, and currants. The canning and jam factory was processing fruit from all around the Barossa, which at this time was also a significant orcharding and currant-growing area. Yalumba tinned fruits were particularly popular in the gold fields and mining towns of Western Australia. Wine was sold to markets within Australia, New Zealand, India, and ‘the East’. . . . In 1909, Rutherglen vigneron John Campbell bequeathed his property to his two surviving sons. David Campbell inherited the 87-acre Bobbie Burns Vineyard, which was, by this time, in a near state of failure because of phylloxera. Together with his wife, Isabella, he began a program to replant grapevines ( Vitis vinifera) on American rootstocks, which would eventually bring the 45-acre planting back into full production. These efforts were helped by Chinese labourers, who were paid ‘$1 per week for unlimited hours’. Winery conditions were basic, with crushers operated by horse-driven windlass and presses and pumps all hand-operated. Steam engines were later employed before the advent of petrol engines and tractors. But efforts were also hampered by economic decline, the gradual loss of demand, and David Campbell’s failing eyesight and health. By 1933, 18-year-old Allen Campbell inherited a heavily mortgaged vineyard property and around 3,350 gallons (15,000 litres) of valueless wine. . . . Exports of bulk wine to the United Kingdom continued to grow at a fast rate during this period. Australian burgundy, valued by consumers for its ferruginous qualities, was a major category in the wine market. Typically, it was exported in hogsheads from the wineries and shipped, often via rail, to the nearest port. After reaching the UK, the barrels were shipped to cellars in London, where they were
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