Tony Love's Bottle Stop

Some words from Tony Love on preservative free wines...


You've got to love it when a powerful trend develops that's all about what's left out of a wine. What's not in there.

In other realms it would be called "reverse engineering". In the wine world we read it as "minimalist" or "lo-fi" winemakers eschewing the use of oak for red wines, releasing them without the usual maturation time, and for a dedicated few, turning noble grapes to wine without any added preservative in the form of traditionally used, and proven safe, sulphur.

We recently mentioned here Temple Bruer's extraordinary 10-year-old Cabernet Merlot, which defies the impression that new season, PF (preservative free) wines are really only designed to be consumed within a year.

David continues that work with a new crop, a 2016 pinot noir from Eden Valley, a 2015 shiraz and the best of them a 2015 cabernet merlot that's fleshy with a subtle licorice note and the blend's typical tannin makeup that should help it develop for a good five more years.

Others follow now, increasingly so. From Kangaroo Island, a new brand from the Islander Estate, So Far So Good, has released PF whites and a 2016 shiraz with vibrant colour and fleshy, grape flavours.

The first out of the blocks this year was from the Barossa Valley, the Kalleske 2016 Zeitgeist. Created in stainless steel tank without any added sulphur dioxide or any non-grape additives and bottled in early May, it's a gutsy Barossa style, earthy, fleshy, with chewy tannins and distinctive licorice notes. Demand has grown so much that it's already almost all gone, though still available in some restaurants and independent stores.

Same goes for the two big players in this field: Battle of Bosworth 2016 Puritan Shiraz and Yangarra 2016 PF Shiraz, both from McLaren Vale, though somewhat different in style. The Puritan is more medium-bodied with a vibrant colour, and fresher fruitier flavours, a wonderful energy in the palate and tannin profile that supports the raspberry to blueberry profile. And, by the way, six previous vintages back to 2010 also show that this style of wine will last really well and, without any oak artifice, shows vintage variations incredibly clearly. The Yangarra PF is a much darker plum-fruited and denser shiraz with more palate impact from the natural grape tannins that give this wine a fair amount of full-bodied grip. Just from its primary impressions, it too should last several years.

Tony Love
SA Weekend Magazine - The Advertiser, p29
Published 24-25/09/2016

Best of Wine Tourism Award Winners Announced

Seven South Australian businesses from four different wine regions have been named winners of the Best of Wine Tourism awards as part of Adelaide’s membership to the Great Wine Capitals Global Network.

The South Australian award winners are:
- Accommodation: The Louise (Barossa)
- Architecture and Landscape: Primo Estate (McLaren Vale)
- Art and Culture: Seppeltsfield Estate (Barossa)
- Innovative Wine Tourism Experience: Banrock Station (Riverland)
- Wine Tourism Restaurants: Skillogalee (Clare Valley)
- Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices: Kalleske Wines (Barossa)
- Wine Tourism Services: Seppeltsfield Estate (Barossa)

The awards recognise leadership, innovation and excellence in wine tourism.

Each of the South Australian award recipients will now go on to represent Australia in the international awards program with a final winner from each great wine capital to be announced in Porto, Portugal in November.


Quotes attributable to the Minister Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and Minister for Tourism Leon Bignell:

The great thing about Adelaide’s membership of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is we are fortunate to be able to recognise all of South Australia’s 18 wine regions within this membership.
It is fantastic to see winners from four regions represented, and next year we hope to see even more.
The local awards program not only celebrates our leading wine tourism businesses but also presents a platform for wineries to benchmark themselves against international best practice.

I congratulate all those who entered the awards for their dedication and important contribution to regional food, wine and tourism in South Australia.

South Australia's wine industry generates almost $1.8 billion in revenue, with $1.2 billion of this from wine exports to countries including the United Kingdom, China and Hong Kong, the US and Canada.

Around eighty per cent of Australia’s premium wine comes from South Australia – and through our membership to the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, we’re rightfully boasting our position on the international stage.


On 1 July, Adelaide, South Australia officially became a member of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, a group of major cities linked to internationally renowned wine regions. Adelaide’s membership was formally recognised at a ceremony in Mainz, Germany on 21 June.

The existing members of this prestigious network are Bilbao / Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Cape Town (South Africa), Mainz-Rheinhessen (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal), San Francisco / Napa Valley (USA) and Valparaìso / Casablanca Valley (Chile). These regions voted unanimously for Adelaide, South Australia to become a Great Wine Capital.

Hon Leon Bignell MP
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries
News Release - SA's Best of Wine Tourism award winners announced
Published 23/09/2016
www.premier.sa.gov.au

Kalleske Wins Australia's Most Prestigious Sustainability Award

Kalleske Wines has been awarded the Banksia Gold Award at the 2015 Banksia Sustainability Awards held on Friday evening in Sydney. This followed on from their category win of the Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership Award.

The Banksia Foundation is a well-established not-for-profit organisation dedicated to working with industry and community to focus attention on the recognition of excellence in sustainability. Banksia is a strong and expanding brand and its Awards program, the Banksia Sustainability Awards, are regarded as the most prestigious and longest running sustainability awards in Australia. The 2015 Banksia Sustainability Awards comprise of thirteen category awards and four specialist awards, including the Banksia Gold Award awarded to the best of the best. The Banksia Sustainability Awards reward Australian individuals, communities, businesses and government for their innovation, achievement and commitment to sustainability. 

Tony and Troy Kalleske, founders and co-owners of Kalleske Wines were rapturous with their win: "To win our small to medium business category was amazing but then to go on to win the Gold Award, Australia's highest ranked sustainability award and be named the best of all 59 finalists was an even more incredible, humbling and a somewhat surreal experience".

The certified organic/biodynamic Kalleske Wines was established in 2002 at Greenock in the North-West Barossa Valley. The winery utilises grapes from the family property (established 1853) operated by Tony and Troy's parents, John and Lorraine, and brother Kym. Troy highlighted in their acceptance speech that it was their parents who were pioneers in sustainable organic viticulture and he had them to thank for instilling the virtues of true sustainability that subsequently followed through to their Kalleske Wines business. In presenting their two awards the judges praised Kalleske Wines as a business that demonstrates leadership by fully integrating sustainability principles and practices into its operational activities and reducing the organisation's footprint as well as demonstrating societal value adds through its practices. 

Kalleske are recognised as sustainable pioneers in organic wine, being the oldest and largest certified organic and biodynamic grape-growing and winemaking operation in South Australia. Their farming methods are environmentally and socially friendly. Soils are healthy with no chemical residues, more carbon retention and more biodiversity. It is a healthy vineyard environment for vineyard workers and the naturally made wines are chemical free. Kalleske is economically viable, an important aspect to allow it to be sustainable environmentally. The winery is ultra-efficient in energy and water use. It is a net exporter of electricity and consumes half the industry benchmark for water use. Innovators in the winery, Kalleske utilise smart barrel storage, efficient clarification and cutting edge analysis to reduce energy use, inputs and consumables.

The 2015 Banksia Gold Award continues the recent national and international recognition for the Greenock winery. Kalleske are twice winners of the Sustainability Award, BrandSA Regional Awards (2013 & 2012) as well as Hall of Fame Inductees (2014) and more recently were awarded the 2015 Telstra Small Business of the Year (SA) and Producer of the World’s Best Bio Wine – 2015 China Wine & Spirit Awards. Today, the award winning range of Kalleske wines are exported to twenty markets as well as widely distributed throughout Australia and also at the Kalleske Cellar Door in Greenock.

John Kalleske Vigneron of the Year

Each year the Barons of the Barossa host a Declaration of Vintage, marking the start of harvest with a blessing of the grapes and a street parade. This year's event was held on Sunday the 15th of February. While vintage was already in full swing for a lot of wineries around the Barossa, hundreds of people came to celebrate the Declaration.

At each Declaration, the Barossa Barons select a Winemaker and Vigneron of the Year from a group of community and peer-nominated industry greats. This year we were very proud to see our very own John Kalleske awarded Vigneron of the Year. Beside him was Ben Radford of Rockford Wines, awarded Winemaker of the Year, and Jamie Nietschke of Moppa receiving an award for services to the industry from Barossa Grape and Wine.

John is a fifth generation grapegrower and has done an outstanding job of tending the Kalleske family vineyards for over fifty years. He was honoured and humbled to accept the award, simply stating "We just do our own little thing in our patch of the Barossa".

John Kalleske awarded Vigneron of the Year by the Barons of the Barossa

For further reading, please visit the Barossa Herald website or ABC News.


Christmas Trading Hours

Please note that our Cellar Door will be closed on the following days over the Christmas and New Year period:

Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Closed
New Year's Day: Closed

All other days, our Cellar Door will be open as normal from 10am - 5pm.

Celebrate the Barossa Vintage Festival at Kalleske


The vintage festival has rolled around again and it's time to get fired up for the Kalleske Drop, Chop and Two Smoking Barrels. On the menu we have our own raised, barrel-wood fired lamb accompanied with traditional Prussian sides and salads, which wouldn't be complete without Lorraine Kalleske's famous Rote Grütze.

Our doors will be open:

Wednesday 15 April 10:00am - 6:00pm
Thursday 16 April 10:00am - 6:00pm
Friday 17 April 10:00am - 11:00pm
Saturday 18 April 10:00am - 11:00pm
Sunday 19 April 10:00am - 6:00pm

Food will be available from 11am - 3pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and from 11am - 8pm on Friday and Saturday. Come and stay for a relaxed afternoon of live acoustic music in our Cellar Door. Wine by the glass and bottle will be available all day from 10am. It is an outdoor event, so if the weather is cool please dress accordingly.

Click here to book tickets for this event via My Booking Manager.

The times are a-changing in the Barossa

Fassina Family Liquor Merchants talk about our 2013 Kalleske Greenock Shiraz in their recent article on INDAILY. Click here to read the article, or visit our website to order the 2013 Greenock Shiraz online.