Yalumba, Barossa Valley

Last year we visited the Yalumba folks down in Coonawarra and absolutely fell in love with the area and the people. Communication was originally through the Yalumba office in the Barossa Valley who put us direct contact with the wonderful people down in Coonawarra. An area everyone should visit.

With the great service and help received we felt it was mandatory that while visiting the Barossa Valley we pay a visit to the place that helped start it all, and to meet and personally thank the person behind one of the great wine trip Adventures.

Menzies / Yalumba in Coonawarrra

Smith & Hooper in Wrattonbully

With a history that dates back over a hundred and sixty years and being the oldest family winery in Australia there is a lot to learn about Yalumba.
"Founded in 1849 by a British migrant and English brewer, Samuel Smith, who had brought his family to Angaston seeking a new life.
After purchasing a 30-acre parcel of land just beyond the southern-eastern boundary of Angaston, Smith and his son began planting the first vines by moonlight. Samuel named his patch "Yalumba", aboriginal for, "all the land around." Five generations later, in 1985, under the guidance of Robert Hill Smith the success story continues. Click 'here' for an interesting history timeline.

What a great place to visit and have a taste. Not only are there great wines to taste in an amazing historic facility, there are the wonderful people of Yalumba there to to take you on a wonderful tasting journey. The wine lineup is very nice and worthy of a visit even without the amazing facility and wonderful people. We took the time to enjoy a great tasting of Yalumba's fine wines in one o the coolest (wow, great, neat, nice, interesting and comfortable) tasting areas you could visit. The tasting area is in the building that was once Yalumba's Brandy Bond store and reflects the true authenticity and feel of this winery that is over 150 years old.

After we were done (think they caught on to the multiple revisiting) Steve Linder took us on a tour of the facility. This place has some truly neat places hidden in these amazing old buildings. One of the things that stand out is the pride in the history and accomplishments of the company in Steve's words. As we go into places and see things that not too many get to see it is also apharent that Yalumba takes its history and responsibility to it very seriously. The upkeep and the preservation of these amazing facilities takes a significant commitment and everywhere we went it was very well taken care of. Even the conversion of a couple very large old concrete fermenters that are no longer used, into a Yalumba VIP tasting area. Stunning!
We even got to hang out where the Ashes players came to have a tipple on the rest days (not much resting, wink wink). The space is decorated in all sorts of wonderful cricket memorabilia from bats and balls to autographed photos of many of the greats.

Thanks to Steve and the good people at Yalumba for making our visit such a wonderful experience and for taking the time to share what a great place and company Yalumba is. Next time in town maybe a glass with Robert! For the cool place and the lovely wine this place is highly 'recommended' as a place to visit in the Barossa Valley.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala