Wine is birthed from the land but shaped by all the dedicated people behind the brand with their passion and the care they take with everything they do; Jacob's Creek is inspired by a tradition of winemaking that is over 165 years old but also about the straightforward enjoyment of sharing the wines with others.
As any WKA reader will know by now, the Barossa is one of my favourite parts of Australia. It holds a unique place in my heart due to the passion of its people for producing incredible wine and food. I have so many friends down there now due to my many visits for photo work in the past 1.5 years. It really is an exceptional part of this diverse and beautiful country.
I was flown down as a guest of Jacobs Creek as they wanted to show me all the winery has to offer visitors and have me sample their superb wines and sublime food.
Overall I had an incredible time. I leant so much about wine I never knew before. I love drinking wine, but over the past few years during my career in food, I have been blessed to get a much better understanding of the craft and passion which goes into wine production. I hope this post inspires you to get to the Barossa region and experience all I did at Jacob's Creek. It was a fab time for me, and I thank Jacob's Creek for their unending, warm hospitality :)
Day One…
I flew down early morning from Sydney and met with Celest and Ruth from Jacob's Creek Wines. With the girls alongside me, my journey to learning all about the world of Jacob's Creek began!
On our way to the Barossa, we stopped at the Mount Lofty House lookout to look east over some Adelaide Hills vineyards that supply Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Jacob's Creek Reserve wines. It was a stunningly beautiful spot in the Adelaide Hills ~ an area I hadn't visited before. It's very picturesque, with its undulating hills and vibrant green vineyards dotted everywhere.
Even flying into Adelaide, I was taken aback by how pretty it looked from the air and how different its appearance was in contrast to the dryer and more arid Barossa Valley region I have come to know now so well.
After a leisurely half-hour or so drive from the Hills region, we arrived at the Barossa Valley and at the very striking Jacob's Creek Visitors Centre
I was approached by Jacob's Creek Wines, who asked me if I would be interested in doing a 'behind the scenes' photoshoot at Jacob's Creek Winery in the beautiful Barossa Valley and being a guest of Jacob's Creek for 3 nights. Of course, I said “Yes Please!”
Following a quick look around the building and being thoroughly inspired by the surrounding countryside and vines, the girls and I started my visit at the centre's bespoke Jacob's Creek Blend Bar to make our own wine! Woohoo!
This was great fun and quite a novelty for me to have such a fantastic and unique opportunity I had never had before. My host was the very welcoming Sasha Bown ~ a very knowledgeable Wine Educator & Sommelier at Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre.
'Blend' by Jacob's Creek offers wine buffs and novices the chance to collaborate with a wine expert and create their own drop perfectly matched to their palate. During the experience, customers work one-on-one with a winemaker or sommelier to create their own wine blend. With the wine expert as your guide, you add different amounts of the various component wines to match your taste preferences and create your signature Blend.
The experience uses four of Jacob's Creek's most famous red and white varieties: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Grenache in the red category and Sauvignon Blanc, Moscato, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris in the white. Once you decide on your preferred Blend (in my case, I opted for a Red blend and preferred the Shiraz and Pinot), your own personal wine is professionally blended by Sasha using your unique recipe. It's then bottled on the spot by the state-of-the-art Blend machine (very Willy Wonka), complete with a personalised label. Bottled and sealed professionally ensures the wines can be cellared for a future special occasion.
I tried a few different combos and percentages. My own Blend comprised 30% Pinot Noir, 60% Shiraz and 10% Merlot ~ the latter was astounding to me, as I am usually not a mad fan of Merlot and typically find it way too dry for my palette. Still, with Sasha's guidance, this one produced the result most akin to the type of red wines I love, which are gutsy and plummy. This is why I have adored the Barossa Valley's red wines ~ esp. their Shiraz blends.
I was totally stumped as to what to call my own Blend, as I am useless at thinking of fun and silly names on the spot, so we decided it was only fitting, due to me and What Katie ate being a guest of Jacob's Creek, that we call it "What Katie Drank" in honour of the blog :)
Next was lunch at the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre, home of the Jacob's Creek™ wine brand.
It's an imposing space, very light and bright. It has stunning views from the extensive vineyards right outside the building. It is open to the public and encompasses a cellar door, restaurant, history gallery, displays vineyard and a walking trail along the banks of the famous Jacob's Creek.
The award-winning Jacob's Restaurant allows visitors to explore Australia's food and wine culture with a lunch menu featuring fresh, seasonal produce presented with wine recommendations for each dish, with sweeping views of vineyards stretching up to the surrounding Barossa ranges. Eating lunch at such a gorgeous spot was inspiring, with the superb scenery outside.
For lunch ~ which was prepared by the (gorgeously warm and friendly) Genevieve Harris, who is the Executive Chef at the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre ~ I got to enjoy one of their 'Paddock plates', which consisted of a range of (superb) local meats with pickles, relishes and our garlic and rosemary focaccia. Then I opted for the Sugar and vodka cured Atlantic salmon with blood orange and fennel salad. It was fresh, and clean, and not usually a massive fennel fan, but I enjoyed it paired with the smoked salmon.
Next was lunch at the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre, home of the Jacob's Creek™ wine brand.
It's an imposing space, very light and bright. It has stunning views from the extensive vineyards right outside the building. It is open to the public and encompasses a cellar door, restaurant, history gallery, displays vineyard and a walking trail along the banks of the famous Jacob's Creek.
The award-winning Jacob's Restaurant allows visitors to explore Australia's food and wine culture with a lunch menu featuring fresh, seasonal produce presented with wine recommendations for each dish, with sweeping views of vineyards stretching up to the surrounding Barossa ranges. Eating lunch at such a gorgeous spot was inspiring, with the superb scenery outside.
For lunch ~ which was prepared by the (gorgeously warm and friendly) Genevieve Harris, who is the Executive Chef at the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre ~ I got to enjoy one of their 'Paddock plates', which consisted of a range of (superb) local meats with pickles, relishes and our garlic and rosemary focaccia. Then I opted for the Sugar and vodka cured Atlantic salmon with blood orange and fennel salad. It was fresh, and clean, and not usually a massive fennel fan, but I enjoyed it paired with the smoked salmon.
Genevieve was a super approachable woman, extraordinarily cordial and accommodating to me regarding getting some shots of her food. She went out of her way to make my job a lot easier, as it's not easy juggling eating fantastic food, guzzling fab wine and taking pics simultaneously!
Genevieve's career began over 25 years ago in 1986 at Grey Masts restaurant in Robe, South Australia, followed by Neil Perry's Blue Water Grill in Bondi and then Christine Manfield's first restaurant, Paragon, in Sydney. She then went to South East Asia, including a two-year stint as Executive Chef in a luxury resort in Bali. She returned to Sydney as Executive Chef at Bathers Pavilion in Balmoral, earning the restaurant two hats from the SMH Good Food Guide. In the 1990s, Genevieve returned to Adelaide and ran the highly regarded Nediz restaurant with her sister. In 2003 Genevieve stepped out of the kitchen and into food writing, teaching, catering, consulting and styling. Finally, the lure of a busy kitchen saw her join the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre as Executive Chef in 2012.
The Jacob's Restaurant is open to the public daily for lunch from 12-3 pm, and the Visitor Centre from 10-5 pm daily. For bookings call 08 8521 3000. Barossa Valley Way, Rowland Flat.
After fab food and a flowing wine filled-lunch, it was off to check out where I would be staying, and Holy Moly, the guys did not fail to impress me.
I was driven over to THE most GORGEOUS old sandstone building, which is hidden near the Visitor's Centre. The site we were staying at was the Jacob family's original estate, including William Jacob, after whom the creek was named, and his siblings John and Ann. Ann Jacob's cottage has been fully restored for private B&B accommodation. Note ~ this property is sadly not available for public rental. In addition, some semi-restored ruins house the outdoor kitchen garden and a wood oven. Also on the site are an old dairy, a vineyard shed, and cork trees. These were planted by Colin Gramp in 1971 and were due for their first cork harvested forty years later in 2012. They will be gathered again 9 years later, and then finally, 9 years after that, the first cork suitable to use as wine cork will be harvested. The house really was very stunning. Sadly, I didn't get to take any shots of the inside, but it was a gorgeous mix of old and new. I could have moved in straight away. So much of it was precise to my own personal tastes.
Once I had uttered the words "Ok girls, I so want to own this house" about 17,000 times and a bit of a natter with them over a chilled glass or two of sparkling in the kitchen, we were off for dinner.
Honestly, I had no idea what a treat they had in store for me, and I was taken aback at the amount of effort Jacob's Creek went to for the girls and me. I really was made to feel like royalty. I felt extraordinarily spoilt, and well looked after. I feel fortunate to have been a part of the experience.
Hosted by Nick Bruer, (super bloke) Senior Red Winemaker at Jacob's Creek, and a meal prepared by Veronica Zahra, Executive Chef at Jacob's Creek Heritage Vineyard, my dinner for the first night of my stay consisted of:
Spicy duck cold roll with nuoc mam cham
2013 Steingarten Riesling (Eden Valley)
Tuna & Avocado Sushi
2014 Jacob's Creek WAH* (white)
Chicken Yakitori
2013 Jacob's Creek WAH* (red)
Thai Red Beef Curry
2014 Jacob's Creek Lamoon* (red)
Mushroom Raviolo with creamy garlic sauce
2013 Jacob's Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay (Barossa/Kangaroo Island)
Eye-fillet Black Angus beef with tarragon butter and jus
2010 Centenary Hill Shiraz (Barossa Valley)
Almond croquant, chocolate ganache with caramel sauce
2010 Jacob's Creek Johann Shiraz Cabernet (Barossa/Coonawarra)
Nick started his career as a chemical analyst at the Australian Wine Research Institute after completing a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering in 1985. His interaction with the wine industry spurred him to study winemaking (Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) at Charles Sturt University), where he graduated dux of his class in 1997. Following this, he gained winemaking experience at various local wineries until becoming a winemaker for Jacob's Creek in 2000. On top of his scientific prowess, Nick also applies a solid creative and artistic flair to his winemaking and is known among his colleagues as a master of wine descriptors!
Veronica Zahra was one of the most fabulous ladies I met during the trip. What. A. Lady!?
We clicked instantly, and let's just say we're not dis-similar in our inability to talk (non-stop) ;)
Veronica is a charming, warm, open and down-to-earth woman. She is the Executive Chef at Jacob's Creek 1847 Heritage vineyard, cooking exclusively for VIP guests. Veronica grew up in Broken Hill, and her cooking skills are self–taught, so I think this might have been why I had such an instant affinity with her.
Veronica is driven entirely by a passion for delicious food, which started with Mediterranean cuisine but has expanded well beyond into Chinese and other Asian cuisines. She established her own successful catering business in 1992, but since 2000 Veronica has been at Jacob's Creek and is probably still non-stop talking to some guests right now whilst they are savouring her super cuisine ;)
Dinner was served in the red room in the Heritage Vineyard Homestead, which is a fully restored bungalow that was built for the Gramp family in 1922. I almost fell over when I saw the table setting ~ each one holding about 11 empty wine glasses. I knew we were going to be in for an excellent night of great food and lashings of wine...
Before dinner, we enjoyed a canapé on the Heritage Vineyard's grounds, and I was given a little tour of the original Jacob's Creek cellar...
Day 2…
Day 2, and it was up for a sumptuous breakfast consisting of a fantastic array of pastries, fresh fruit and good coffee. We were, well... off for more wine, this time red, with Dan Swincer, who is one of the Red Winemakers at Jacob's Creek
Here I got to sample various parcels of Barossa Shiraz from the 2014 vintage tasted from French & American oak barrels; Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2014 vintage, from French oak barrels; Jacob's Creek Double Barrel Barossa Shiraz 2012 (before whiskey barrel, and after) and Jacob's Creek Double Barrel Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 (before, and after) all of which are shaped by the winemakers and their passion for quality.
Dan ~ who oddly enough was the spitting image of a mate of mine, so he felt really familiar upon first meeting him ~ graduated with his winemaking degree, a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Oenology) in 2003 and then worked in various cellar-hand and winemaking roles in the Napa Valley as well as different Australian wine regions.
For the last 8 years, Dan has been making Jacob's Creek wines – initially working on Chardonnays and aromatic whites until 2011, when he switched to the red winemaking team. In 2011 he was voted The Wine Society's Young Winemaker of the Year. He is a talented winemaker and was recently described by our Chief Winemaker Bernard Hickin as a master of style'.
The winery is in Tanunda, where all the red wines for Jacob's Creek are made. The white wines are all assembled at Rowland Flat, 2 km from the site of Johann Gramp's original winery.
Jacob's Creek Double Barrel is a unique and groundbreaking concept launched in Australia in June 2014. The winemakers take big rich red wines, mature them in traditional wine oak barrels, and then finish them in whiskey barrels.
Whisky barrels differ from wine barrels made from coarser oak, with narrower staves and then toasted inside until charred. When wines are finished in whiskey barrels, the mouth feels it softens noticeably, and exciting nuances appear on the palate. Jacob's Creek Double Barrel Shiraz is finished in Scotch whiskey barrels. In contrast, Jacob's Creek Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon is finished in Irish whiskey barrels. I found this process exciting and unique; you could get a subtle hint of whiskey in the wine. It's interesting to see a process shaped by a yearning to explore new ways of doing things.
After a great start to the day - guzzling and sampling wine, we were headed back to the visitors' centre for an alfresco-style lunch, but not before doing a fascinating and quirky exercise - the Jacob's Creek Sensory Wine Experience.
Our host was a lovely woman by the name of Louise, who is a cellar door staff member at the Visitor Centre.
This experience was so enjoyable, and it takes you on a sensory journey to explore how your five senses affect how you taste wine. This involved using black sensory glassware to challenge assumptions you may have when deprived of the ability to judge a wine by sight and also tasting different coloured foods and foods with various sauces/condiments to experiment with how that affects the way the food matches with the wines.
I learnt a lot in this session ~ especially being a cook. It was an exciting and enjoyable part of my trip, shaped by a deep understanding of flavour. I am used to pairing white wine with chicken and red with beef, but I learnt through this experience that this is not always the correct route. For example, if you are serving chicken with a fruity sauce, red wine works much better to bring out the flavour in the dish.
For lunch, we enjoyed a selection of pizza from the Jacob's Restaurant kitchen served outdoors on the northern side of the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre overlooking Jacob's Creek. Wine: Jacob's Creek Reserve Margaret River Chardonnay 2012.
Once lunch was over, we met up with a lovely guy named Shaun McBeath, the Viticulture Operations Assistant Manager at Jacob's Creek.
At the Visitor Centre, a display vineyard has 14 varieties of wine grapes, each planted in one row.
The varieties include Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, etc. During the growing season, October to March, visitors can observe the differences in the growth pattern, leaf shape, bunch size and appearance, and ripening progress of the grapes to learn how unique each grape variety is. Some ripen early, some late, some have big berries, and others are small. Each has its character and requirements to get the best quality fruit at harvest time.
Beyond the display vineyard outside the visitor's centre is the main vineyard, which supplies Shiraz grapes to some of our Jacob's Creek wines. Shaun explained how they tend to the vines with careful irrigation, pruning, and managing the canopy for excellent vine health and ideal fruit ripening. After my visit, to answer a question I asked Shaun on the day ~ he made some calculations. Based on last year's harvest, each vine produced about 2.8 bottles, so approximately 200 bottles of wine were produced from each row.
The Katie Quinn Davies Shiraz vine... :)
The highlight of the trip came next. I got to plant my very own Shiraz vine on the northern bank of Jacob's Creek! I joked I felt like Kate Middleton :) It was a touching gesture as my vine will be called after me, with its little plaque at the bottom. Hopefully, it will grow strong and produce grapes to make super wine in future years.
After our tour and I got to plant the vine, we headed over for a quick look at Steingarten Vineyard, one of Australia's iconic vineyards. It was first established in 1962 after Colin Gramp (Johann Gramp's great-grandson) returned from a trip to Germany, where he had seen Riesling vines planted on steep rocky slopes.
Seeking to emulate such a vineyard in the Barossa, he petitioned his family, but they refused him. Not to take such a setback, he quietly arranged for a friend with an excavator to meet him up at the top of Trial Hill early one morning and set about establishing his vineyard on the Eden Valley side of the border of Eden Valley and Barossa Valley regions.
the site was so steep that the tractor and excavator rolled, and the ground was so hard and rocky that it could not be penetrated. So Colin did what few others would even consider. He used dynamite to break up the rock to plant his vines! After that, his project was no longer a secret since the sound could be heard across the valley. But the vines were in the ground, and having them removed was no point. Six years later, in 1968, the first Steingarten Riesling wine was released soon after. The vineyard celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. Due to the windy, exposed site and the frugal rocky soil, the 50-year-old vines look incredibly skinny and frail. Still, they produce fruit full of personality and terroir. The name Steingarten aptly means Stone Garden in German.
Back to the cottage for a quick freshen up, we were off literally 20 metres away to a cooking class.
Held in the outdoor kitchen at the historic Jacob's Estate (where I was staying), the Kitchen Garden Cooking Experience involved picking fresh produce from the kitchen garden and then working with Chef Genevieve Harris (as mentioned earlier) to prepare a gourmet meal.
The rustic dining was on the hessian-covered candle-lit table inside the walls of one of the property's outbuildings. The latter, in particular, really blew me away. The atmosphere inside the room, complete with authentic, old distressed plater work, open old wooden beams, open window and old fireplace, really made for a very magical setting, esp. at night as it got dark and the light beamed in from a small window in the room on the left. It looked and felt highly fairy-tale-like, with the candles dotted around the room.
A trip to the Aussie countryside is only complete with the opportunity to capture a roo. This one (in the gallery above) was photographed in the Jacob's Creek Heritage Vineyard on my last day, just before heading to the airport.
