Latest News
Wednesday 14th April 2010
Another vintage has finished and we are glad to report that despite the continuing drought conditions, we have had a successful year with good yields and the promise of excellent quality! Guests continue to enjoy Peter showing them the vineyard and learning what goes on behind the romance of producing wine!
We have introduced a new dining package which enables guests to dine at the cottage looked after by their very own personal chef for the night. Options include a table for two in the cottage cellar, in the lounge by the fire, on the cottage verandah in the warmer weather, or in the private dining room of our home. The chefs are Stuart of John from Handmade Catering. Click here for further information.
The brilliant Barossa craftsman Andy Pywell, who has handmade much of the furniture in the cottage, has just completed and installed a beautifully handcrafted unit in the bathroom which houses a Bose Wave CD/radio and Bose iPod Docking station. A rainwater bath with Molton Brown products and the finest sound for your music makes for a very special & relaxing afternoon!
Tuesday 17th November 2009
We are very excited to announce that on Saturday 7th November 2009, Seppeltsfield Vineyard Cottage won two categories at the 2009 South Australian Tourism Awards!
Category 6 - Heritage and Cultural Tourism
and
Category 20 - Hosted Accommodation.
In case you hadn't noticed (!) we are passionate about the living history of the Barossa - our Town Brass Bands over 100 years old, the Liedertafel (German Men's Choir) which has been in existence for 150 years, the Apex bakery with their wood fired Scotch oven which has run continuously since 1924..the list goes on. The Heritage and Cultural Tourism entry was an opportunity to spread the word about the amazing experiences the Barossa can offer...(as well as our wine of course) and we are particularly delighted with our success in this category!
For more information about the Awards click here.
Not to be outdone, Peter has had some amazing successes with his wines as well! In August both the 2009 Seize the Day Rosé and 2006 Seize the Day Cabernet Sauvignon won Trophies at the Marananga Barossa Valley Wine Show.
In early November the 2009 Rosé was named in The Advertiser Top 100 wines and also made equal top Rosé from 30 other Rosé wines tasted in Winestate Magazine's New Releases.
As we enter the 2010 vintage season after wonderful Spring rains, we again look forward to what surprises await us in the vineyard in the forthcoming year. It is a joy to wander up to the vineyard with our guests and share the sense of anticipation. We can be as clever as we like with the science of growing grapes, but in the end it is Mother Nature who determines the outcome!
We wish you all safe travels.
Sharyn and Peter
Friday 21st August 2009
One of the great things about being in this industry is the people we meet and being able to help them discover what is so special about the Barossa. We have just had James and Nadine visit the cottage for their third time and it is a joy to see them discover new Barossa delights each time. They are now experts in Barossa history, the local providores, the Farmer's Market and most things Barossa actually - the region couldn't ask for better ambassadors!
We are about to enjoy another Barossa Gourmet weekend starting tomorrow. 21 wineries are participating, with fabulous winter-warming dishes by individual chefs matched with special treats chosen by the winemakers and music at each venue. If you can't make it this year, watch www.barossa.com for the dates for next year!
We have entered the 2009 South Australian Tourism Awards after having time out last year. It's an exhaustive process, but it keeps us on our toes constantly looking for innovative ideas to wow our guests with - which is what it is all about! We have entered two categories, Hosted Accommodation and Heritage and Cultural Tourism. The judge will spend a night in the cottage in early September and the winners are announced on the 7th November 2009. We will keep you posted!
Wine writer Tyson Stelzer will launch his latest book Barossa Wine Traveller next Friday 28th August. The book tells the individual stories of selected wine producers and we are very excited to have been included! To find out more about Tyson and his amazing range of publications, click here
We are about to launch into the 2010 vintage, the vines are very close to "budburst" heralding the end of their winter sleep. One thing about being a primary producer - life is never dull!
All the best.
Sharyn and Peter
Saturday 13th June 2009
We are now officially into winter and our cottage guests are enjoying the open fire and underfloor heating. The fear of swine flu does not apply to them as one of the many advantages of staying in our cottage is that they have it all to themselves!
We have been busy in the garden (as if a vineyard is not enough!) and have been pruning our cherry, quince, lemon and peacharine trees. Thankfully the fig, pomegranite and almond trees look after themselves! In the garden we have broccoli, peas, french beans, broad beans, spinach, garlic, beetroot, lettuce and rocket thriving as well as our herbs of rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic chives and parsley. It is wonderful being able eat our own vegetables knowing they are totally organically grown. What we don't grow we can buy each week at the Barossa Farmer's market - we are so spoilt in the Barossa Valley!
Speaking of being spoilt, we have a newly opened cellar door only a 5 minute walk from the cottage. Known as Hentley Farm, the cellar door is a beautiful old building with one of the original parts of the building dating back to the 1850s with wood beamed mud ceilings. There is a wood fired bread oven as well. The buildings were in a very bad state of repair, just like our cottage before its restoration and it is wonderful to see another part of the Barossa's heritage being saved for future generations to enjoy. Their wines are pretty good too!
The 2009 vintage turned out to be excellent for us after two very tough years of excessive heat and drought. In particular we are delighted with our Cabernet which will be ready for release in 2012 - patience is a necessary virtue in this business if it is quality you are after!
If you are considering visiting us, we have some promotional offers available, click here to visit our "Special Offer" page.
Wherever you are as you read our news, keep well and stay safe.
Sharyn and Peter
Sunday 1st March 2009
We spent a great day today with friends along Seppeltsfield Road working together for "Clean up Australia Day". This is a highly organised day where groups of people all over Australia work together to clean up rubbish from their environment. Our group covered about 7 kilometres along Seppeltsfield Road, picking up papers, plastic and other rubbish from the roadside. We are very proud of this historic road and gain great satisfaction from keeping it pristine, especially so visitors to our region can enjoy the beauty of it. Peter and myself, Whistler Wines, Torbreck Vintners, Sieber Wines and friends put in a good days work!
Another dry summer has preceded the 2009 vintage. Only 1.5millimetres of rain fell for January and February which our northern hemisphere guests cannot comprehend! Despite this the vineyard and grapes are looking terrific thanks to controlled drip irrigation of the minimum required water to the vines - and a water bill to match.
We will harvest some of the Cabernet Sauvignon this week for our Seize the Day Rosé and the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon the following week for our full bodied wines.
Of course another special thing about this time of the year is having ripe Shiraz grapes to make Rote Grutzë - a red berry dessert made with sago, but in the Barossa made from Shiraz grapes and sago. Delicious with runny cream and sought after at Barossa Vintage Festival events! Our figs are ripening and it will be a race with the birds to get to them first for our fig jam. This year I will be pickling and preserving our figs as well and have promised myself I will do something with our pomegranites!
Wednesday 22nd October
We are now well into Spring and the vines are covered in young shoots full of promise for the next vintage. The guests in the cottage are delighted to see 12 baby goslings grazing with their parents on the lawns - they grow by the day!
In early October we attended a wonderful session of the World Food Exchange held at Seppeltsfield Winery across the road from us. There were speakers from South Africa, Victoria, the USA and our own neighbour Jim Carreker from The Louise and Appellation restaurant. The session focussed on culinary and gastronomic tourism and reinforced to me how much we have to offer visitors to the Barossa in the way of a truly unique food heritage and the supply of fresh, seasonal produce from our own gardens as well as those of other Barossan suppliers through our highly successful Farmers Market held each Saturday morning.
I was inspired to introduce a modest dine-in menu for our guests with the emphasis on truly regional Barossa foods. For further information about the Barossa's food history and our menu, go to "Dining".
Further to our comments in July regarding James Hallidays reviews of our wines, we were indeed delighted to receive 94 points for our soon to be released 2006 Seize the Day Cabernet Sauvignon and 91 points for the 2006 Seize the Day Shiraz.
Another milestone for us in September was the export of our first pallet of wine overseas to Singapore - a very exciting event!
We have just been visited by the Channel 9 Postcards programme. The episode is due to go to air in South Australia in November.
Happy travelling!
Sharyn and Peter
Sunday 27th July 2008
We are half way through winter and the frost on the ground in the mornings reminds us of this!
The open fire in the cottage is a major attraction at this time of the year for guests, along with a spot on the miner's couch which sits under the north facing verandah and captures the warm winter sun during the afternoon. The view up to the newly pruned vineyard is sensational with the symmetry of the vines accentuated by the neat green mid row crop.
The warm bathroom floor and heated bath towels are also appreciated! We recently spent some time in Melbourne and returned with new white Egyptian cotton sheet sets and a beautiful South African mohair rug for our guests to keep warm by the fire with. It is still fun after four years to look out for new luxuries to delight our guests with!
We are eagerly anticipating the release of James Hallidays 2009 Wine Companion this coming Tuesday 29th July. We have had a hint that our Milhinch Wines Seize the Day range may have had some favourable comments...fingers crossed! The 2006 Seize the Day Shiraz recently received 51.5 points (silver) in the Boutique Wines of Australia Wine Awards and finished 10th out of over 230 Shiraz wines. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon received 48 points (bronze) and finished 12th from over 130 Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Very pleasing results.
Sadly, as described in my entry on 5th April, the 2008 vintage was not kind to our Cabernet grapes. Luckily we harvested the Cabernet for the rosé early in the heatwave, but the fruit for the full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon had to wait until the end of the two week heatwave before the winery could receive it. The fruit did not meet our standards and we will therefore not be making a 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. Very sad because the 2005 & 2006 vintages show our vineyard is capable of producing fruit which makes very good wine.....this is the unromantic side of viticulture!
We will shortly be launching a new website for the cottage and our wines. The current sites have served us well, but we look forward to some innovative and exciting additions to the new sites!
Keep warm!
Sharyn and Peter
Sunday 5th April 2008
Another vintage is now coming to an end and our winemaker says it is the hardest he has seen. Just as everyone's grapes were ripening in ideal conditions with cool nights, South Australia was hit with a 15 day heatwave where the maximum temperature each day was above 35 degrees celsius. Everyone needed to get their grapes to the winery at once, but of course the wineries quickly reached their capacity. It was the ultimate challenge to nurse the grapes along through the hot weather and then for the winemakers to weave their magic in the winery. It will be very interesting to taste the 2008 vintage wines!
The cottage has been busy with the flow of international and interstate guests. I wish I had a dollar for the number who say they should have booked more than two nights. The cottage seems to be a home away from home for travellers and provides an opportunity to recharge before resuming the hard work of touring and travelling the globe! Our guests also comment that they had underestimated how much there is to see and do in the Barossa. So, if you are reading this before you arrive, don't say we didn't warn you!
The arrival of Autumn has brought beautiful balmy sunny days and this is one of our favourite times of the year. The vines are just starting to lose their leaves and the Valley looks magnificent with a hint of green hills after some Autumn rain and cold nights. A great time to visit!
Keep well and happy travelling.
Sharyn and Peter
Sunday 9th March 2008
Well sadly we have to report we were not successful at the national level of the Tourism Awards in Canberra last weekend, but cannot complain after a dream run over the last 3 years! We were excited though to witness our neighbour, The Louise, take out the "Luxury Accommodation" title. The Louise is of course also home to Appellation restaurant where many of our guests have experienced sensational food and service, as well as wine from an amazing wine list. So, congratulations to all at The Louise. This is also great for Seppeltsfield Road, further establishing our small sub-region of the Barossa as a "must do"!
In February, world renowned Italian photographer Stefano Scata stayed in the cottage for two nights. He spent several days in the Barossa and the photos he took are sensational. If you want the ultimate virtual tour of the best of the Barossa, visit Stefano's website. Click here to view his Barossa images which include some of our cottage interior.
Hover over each photo for a description. There are 6 pages of photos, including seven of our cottage and vineyard. His photos are a beautiful representation of what the Barossa has to offer.
Our grapes are still hanging on the vines, the flavours becoming more concentrated with each day. We are currently experiencing a heat wave and have had 8 days over 35 degrees celsius. We are heading toward breaking all heatwave records apparently! All the bird life is looking very thirsty and are glad to find water provided for them as well as refuge in the garden.
Fingers crossed for a wet Autumn eventually!
Peter and Sharyn
Tuesday 26th February 2008
As we head towards March we are monitoring our vineyard closely, waiting for the fruit flavours to reach their optimum level before picking. Watching our winemaker make these decisions reinforces that with all the technology in the world, winemaking is still an art and it has to be right. The challenge is both exciting and serious! To date this year we have had 5mm of rain with no more in sight. With the latest irrigation techniques and soil moisture monitoring equipment, we give the minimal amount of water needed to keep the vines healthy and know exactly how much water the vines have had. None gets wasted, especially at $1480/megalitre!
The 2008 vintage promises to be a good one though and the warm days and cool nights are helping a slow ripening process which also assists optimal fruit flavours. Our 2005 Milhinch Wines Seize the Day Cabernet Sauvignon found a place in the annual Winestate magazine's "2007 Best New Releases", confirming that it is a seriously good wine. As Pete says- it's as smooth as a baby's bum!
We fly to Canberra on Friday for our third time as finalists in the Quantas Australian Tourism Awards. We won in 2005, were runners-up in 2006, so fingers crossed for 2007! It's a thrill to win, but it is still a bigger thrill each time guests write in the Guest Book about what a fabulous and special time they have had in the cottage. The challenge of meeting your expectations can be daunting and it is a great feeling to hit the mark! We will keep you informed!
Cheers - and remember, life is too short to drink bad wine!
Sharyn and Peter
Monday 7th January 2008
Here we are in another new year! Again we have met some amazing guests from the USA, Singapore and Sydney who have spent their festive holidays exploring the Barossa Valley while relaxing and soaking up the peace and quiet of the cottage amidst green vines.
We are proud to be able to tell you we have kicked off 2008 with the wonderful news that our 2005 Seize the Day Single Vineyard Shiraz has been chosen as the Shiraz on Appellation restaurant's new "Seppeltsfield Road Tasting Menu". This is a 10 course degustation menu developed by Head Chef Mark McNamara and his team and includes wines from iconic Seppeltsfield Road wineries such as Torbreck, Rolf Binder, Whistler and Seppeltsfield Estate.
The weather has been consistently hot this summer - up to 42 degrees celsius last week. Thank goodness for air conditioning and the incredible insulating effect of 160 year old mud ceilings! The early Germans and their building techniques could teach us a thing or two about environmentally friendly design!
On this topic, I thought I would share some of the ways we as a business try to minimise our impact on the environment.
Water conservation
We have a huge lined underground rainwater tank adjacent to the cottage which was built at the same time as the cottage. The entire cottage runs on rainwater.
All waste water from the cottage is processed through a Septek Waste Water System and the treated water is returned to the garden via a dripper system. Our lawns are Santa Anna couch which is a salt tolerant and drought resistant grass and our plants are either natives or drought tolerant exotics.
Power conservation
Lights: Outside the cottage we have sensor lights on timers and solar lights at the front gate.
Heating & cooling: Excellent insulation ensures air conditioning only needs to be used as the weather gets very hot or very cold. The design and orientation of the cottage with generous verandahs ensures excellent ventilation - again they had the right idea 160 years ago.
Recycling
Bottles, cans and newspapers are all recycled and food scraps fed to the chickens!
We wish you all a Happy New Year and hope 2008 brings you joy, health and happiness!
Best wishes
Sharyn and Peter
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