With vintage around the corner and the Izway wines cellar door about to open we thought a few days at the beach would be the perfect place to unwind before the mayhem of vigneron life took hold for the year. As we huddled in our flimsy cabin the wind and rain belting down outside it felt strangely like winter in the Barossa not summer at the beach. While the other families we were holidaying with cursed the poor beach weather we secretly rejoiced the summer rains which would set things up perfectly for vintage 2016.
The Barossa Valley experienced a dry winter causing some concern but spring rains arrived at the right time during bud burst putting the vines in good stead. We then sweated through a dry hot summer hoping for some rain which arrived in late January. On Thursday 28th January we swapped our thongs for gum boots and received 28mm of rain followed up by 15mm the next week. As a result the vines look unbelievable and the fruit will make wonderful Barossa Valley wines. We expect the 2016 vintage to be the best we have seen since 2012.
To hear more about Izway (and Torbreck) wine maker Craig’s thoughts on the upcoming vintage check out this video https://vimeo.com/154559383
Kathryn Isbel