Welcome to the October edition of Instinctively Curious, the monthly Two Hands newsletter.
IN THE VINEYARDS
SEPTEMBERS SPRING FROST
The Barossa saw some promising warm weather early in September, which led to strong bud burst and vigorous growth in the vineyard. Unfortunately, this was followed by frost on the mornings of September 13th and 17th which did significant damage to portions of our estate & growers’ vineyards. As you can see from the Before & After image below the frost essentially burns the new growth and kills the young shoots resulting in a severe loss of production.
Fortunately, we are seeing some renewed secondary growth across the frost affected blocks which will hopefully bear fruit. We must also consider our hardy band of growers, who in some cases have lost almost 100% of their annual production. Often, grape growing is their sole source of income.
The best way to support frost affected winemakers & growers is to visit their tasting rooms and buy a bottle of your favourite wine from them. Please follow this link for a list of frost affected producers across SA.
Luckily for us Holy Grail vineyard was not effected by frost.
The growing stage we are currently seeing throughout the vineyard is shooting and inflorescence. Inflorescence means the complete flower head of a plant including stems, stalks, bracts, and flowers are all taking shape. The team have also been busy crop thining some blocks to control the growth and ensure we don’t get an over productive vine which can result in less flavourful wines.
In Spring Holy Grail always welcomes two new little Highlanders that join our fold. This year we’ve welcomed two little boys into the fold. They’ll spend the 6 months greeting Vineyard Experience guests and being adorably fluffy until they’re sold in the new year. They do not have names yet, but the team are busy working on something fun for the duo. Morgan wants them called Han and Chewy, let us know your suggestions!
IN THE WINERY
This month Richard and Jett hosted the Two Hands staff lunch in our ‘Brutus’ Cellar Door courtyard with Jett showcasing his culinary skills with his 18 hour pulled beef brisket, along with a tasting of 2021 Adrestia Chardonnay. We try to have these casual get togethers with all staff a few times through the year. It’s a great way to bring the team together who are often working out in the vineyard or different areas of the winery.
FUN FACT
Our cellar team are always busy moving wines from tank to barrel and back again at various stages during the maturation period. Due to the high quality of our Single Vineyard and Flagship wines we use gravity rather than a pump, which is more aggressive, to remove them from barrel. The wine is carefully siphoned with a hose from an elevated barrel to a tank or barrel below ensuring the wine is not disturbed too much as it is moved. As we don’t filter our red wines this also help to reduce any lees being removed from the barrel, resulting in a clearer wine.
WINE OF THE MONTH
SECRET BLOCK
MOPPA HILLS, BAROSSA VALLEY SHIRAZ
Sourced from a small mature vineyard high in the Barossa western ranges, our Secret Block Shiraz displays an amazing aromatic profile, soft mouth-feel with wonderful structure and very silky tannins. Secret by name, and secret by nature, this magical vineyard hides behind multiple locked gates and windy trails, nestled away with some of the region’s best vineyards. Along with picturesque views of the Barossa and Eden Valley, this vineyard offers high-quality fruit that has always shone, even through the most difficult of vintages. The first vintage of Secret Block was during the challenging 2011 harvest, and was in fact the only Single Vineyard wine we produced that year after barrel classification. It has proven to be a reliable block for the team ever since with it being part of the collection every vintage.
We have released 24 bottles of the inaugural 2011 vintage from our museum which are available HERE now!
VINEYARD LOCATION: Moppa Hills, Barossa Valley | GROWER: Kalleske Family | BLOCK: East Block | SURFACE: 2.5Ac | SOIL PROFILE: Deep grey-red loam containing coarse quartz and ironstone gravel over clay | PLANTING ORIENTATION: East to West | ELEVATION: 335m | AVERAGE VINE AGE: 21 years | CLONE: 1654 | PLANTATION DENSITY:3 meter rows and 2 meter vine spacing | AVERAGE RAINFALL: 450mm | CULTURAL METHOD: Spur pruned, Aussie sprawl
SUNSET ON SEPPELTSFIELD ROAD
1st of NOVEMBER
BAROSSA VALLEY
Overlook the vineyards as the sun sets over Seppeltsfield Road’s Avenue of Palms at what is poised to be one of the region’s most iconic and unforgettable experiences. Settle into the afternoon on the road as we bring together more than 20 wineries, distilleries, food, art and music and you tip your hat off to this ‘money can’t buy experience’.
Expect to find: Paulmara Estates | Seppeltsfield Road Distillers | Hentley Farm | Barossa Ballooning | Whistler Wines | Seppeltsfield | Two Hands Wines | Torbreck | Izway Wines | Greenock Creek | Schubert Estate | FINO | Sieber Wines | Travis Earth | Prohibition Gin & Quin Wines
QUEENSLAND EVENTS
GOOD FOOD AND WINE SHOW | BRISBANE | 25th – 27th October 2024 | Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
TWO HANDS DINNER | GRANDCHESTER QLD | 2nd November 2024 | Homage Restaurant | Spicers Hidden Vale
Lara was born in Switzerland but moved to Australia with her parents at the age of 8. She has lived all over Australia but when working in hospitality in Melbourne, she realised she wanted to know more about the wines she was serving and her passion for the industry began. Lara went on to travel back to Switzerland to complete her first vintage before returning back to Aus to study a Bachelor’s Degree in Winemaking at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. In her free time, she enjoys fishing, hiking, and camping particularly in SA’s Fleurieu region. Her love for the outdoors is also what led to her deciding to make the change and work in Viticulture over winemaking.
Favourite Two Hands Wine?
I love the Eden Valley wines we make, Yacca Block, Charlie’s Garden & The Boy
What do you love about working in the Viticulture team?
Combining creativity, the science of growing, seeing the results in the years wines and adapting to the weather and season.
