Ringing in Vintage 2017 at Chateau Tanunda
Sunday, 3 September 2017
NEW ERA: Chateau Tanunda senior winemaker Neville Rowe and general manager Michelle Geber.
The tight-knit team gathered around a new addition to the winery, a sorting table upon which bunches of the renowned 150-Year-Old Vines Semillon grapes were scattered, to toast the occasion.
Vintage season is around four weeks late this year, in what winemakers across the region have dubbed “back to the old years”, following more than a decade of early seasons.
“It’s so exciting to have this amazing new winery to launch our 2017 vintage 127 years on,” said General Manager Michelle Geber, just months after taking over the reins from father, John.
The entire team toasted to the occasion.
“We’ve come a long way since the early days of it being a small basket press winery. Moving towards luxury wines, we needed to make this investment.”
It’s a project that’s been 12 months in the making, and will provide senior winemaker Neville Rowe with the precious resource of time.
“It will allow me to take a little more time on the premium parcel,” he said
“There’s some great new toys here to play with, and it will allow us to be more innovative.”
Meanwhile the company has taken on two international sales ambassadors, including one from the United States and another, Jean-Bernard Breuille, who hails from France’s Bourgogne region.
Ms Geber had met “JB”, whilst working the 2015 vintage season in France and the company had since fostered the relationship.
“It’s my first visit to the Barossa Valley and it’s a very impressive discovery for me,” said Mr Breuille, who had spent the week immersed in Barossan culture, sampling wines from across the region.
“This is a part of old European history that was brought over here, and the history was rebuilt.”