CHAPTER 14 | 1910s – Nationhood Pain
1910 CHRIS RINGLAND STONE CHIMNEY CREEK VINEYARD Eden Valley, South Australia
The north-east-facing vineyard, technically in the Eden Valley but also referred to correctly as being in the Barossa Ranges, located on the corner of Flaxman’s Valley Road and Stone Chimney Creek Road, was established by Thomas Randall in 1910. It was acquired in 1994 by winemaker Chris Ringland, who gradually restored the vineyard. The soils are shallow and skeletal, with granitic sandy loams over underlying clay and moisture-holding podzols. The dry-grown low-yielding vines, on their own roots, are pruned hard and expected to adapt to the growing season. As a consequence, the postage-stamp-sized vineyard, at only 1.5 hectares, is renowned for its unusually thick-skinned shiraz. Deep in colour, exquisitely concentrated, and laden with tannins, the Chris Ringland Dry Grown Barossa Ranges Shiraz, originally Three Rivers, is a modern classic representing the best of Barossa terroir, early 20th-century vinestock, Australian inventiveness, and modern winemaking practices.
1911 H BURING AND SOBELS QUELLTALER HOCK Clare Valley, South Australia
By all accounts, 1911 was a vintage to remember. Extremely favourable weather conditions resulted in the most satisfactory vintage at H Buring & Sobels’ Spring Vale winery, both in quality and quantity. Trouble, however, brewed during vintage because unionists attempted to persuade non-unionists to leave their jobs at Spring Vale. With a loss in manpower,
district members of the Liberal Union assisted in completing the harvest. At the end of vintage, the company put on a vintage festival for all of the workers involved with a banner that read ‘All’s well that ends well’. The ructions at Spring Vale were recorded by the local and state press. The 1911 H Buring & Sobels Quelltaler Hock went on to win first prize at the Adelaide Wine Show and at the Brewers and Allied Trades Exhibition in London. Originally spelled ‘Quelthaler’ (Springvale), Quelltaler Hock became an important fixture of the Australian wine scene during the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s.
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