Visit to McLaren Vale, South Australia

We arrived late in the day to a grand welcome from Jessie (Shepherd) and Jack (Golden Retriever), not to mention Dawne and Merv. We soon discovered that the dogs were local celebrities having made it into the current edition of Wine Dogs Australia. The family home and vineyard is positioned on a beautiful aspect overlooking the vines, and the distant hills of Onkaparinga ranges. Just 3 km from the Gulf of Vincent, the afternoon sea breeze was a welcome relief to the heat wave that had just arrived.

Merv took us on a vineyard tour in a utility vehicle that made me feel like an extra in the old series M*A*S*H. I think Merv took great delight in flying around the perimeter of the vines and dodging between the dogs. Despite the antics on the tour it was rather depressing to see the state of the vines. The season has well and truly taken it’s toll and there will be no vintage for Thomas Vineyard Estate in 2009.

The loss of fruit for the coming vintage is not unusual in McLaren Vale. Estimates suggest that vintage will be down by 50 - 70%. This is not just restricted to McLaren Vale or South Australia as temperatures continue to soar above 40 degrees.

Primary production can certainly be cruel however the delights from Thomas Vineyard Estate vintages in 2006, 2007 and 2008 are yet to be experienced. We decided to dine in on the Saturday night and proceeded to make as much noise and mess as a dinner party for 10 guests. By the count of empty bottles the next day I am sure there were more than just four of us in attendance the night before!

Needless to say our run with the dogs on the beach in the morning was slow and measured. It was a welcome relief when Kathryn suggested ditching the run for taking photos and having a swim!

We had the pleasure of sampling the Thomas Vineyard Estate Shiraz 2006 and Reserve Shiraz 2006 and are confident that both wines will be very well received by critics and customers alike. The release date for these wines in Victoria and NSW will be later in 2009.

After some brain storming with Merv & Dawne regarding promotions & marketing for the year ahead we loaded the Selador dogs into the ute, hugged the Thomas’ goodbye with a promise to be back sooner rather than later, and headed back for Victoria.

Look out for the 2005 Shiraz and award winning 2005 Reserve Shiraz (Trophy for Best Shiraz at the Boutique Wine Awards, 2008), available at select independent retailers (see stockists list for the nearest store to you).

Please enjoy the selection of photos taken on the trip.

Cheers Sarah