Yalumba was founded in 1849 in the Barossa Valley. In 1847, English brewer Samuel Smith had left his home in Dorset with his family and emigrated to Australia. After spending a short time in Adelaide, the family moved north to Angaston, which at that stage was a small settlement, and purchased a 30-acre property, naming it ‘Yalumba’, after the Aboriginal word meaning ‘all the land around.’ With the help of his son Sidney, Samuel planted a vineyard, making it one of the oldest wineries in the region. In 1852, after the Gold Rush began in New South Wales and Victoria, Samuel left Angaston, returning four months later with £300-worth of gold. With this money, Samuel purchased another 80 acres, as well as horses, and the following year ‘Yalumba’ enjoyed its first harvest of grapes. From the beginning, ‘Yalumba’ dominated the local wine market, which was only helped by Fred Caley Smith, Samuel’s grandson, and his journey abroad to promote Yalumba’s wines and collect vine cuttings and knowledge. In 1908, the Yalumba “clocktower”, as it became known, was completed, which is used as the winery’s logo. ‘Yalumba’ is also the only winery in the southern hemisphere that has its own cooperage for making barrels, made from imported oak staves. ‘Yalumba’ sources its fruit from a number of vineyards, in regions such as the Barossa and Eden Valleys, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully (near Coonawarra), and the general South Australia region.

Given the 140ha of vineyards at their disposal, the range of wines offered by ‘Yalumba’ is immense. The budget range includes The ‘Y Series Unwooded Chardonnay’, which has lovely aromas of lemon, lime, peach and tropical fruit and medium acidity, with no buttery or creamy notes as it wasn’t fermented/aged in oak. ‘The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon’ is a complex wine with aromas of plums, liquorice and violets, and a supple palate of blueberry, tapenade and dried herbs. It is a superb wine suitable for drinking young or cellaring for up to ten years.

For more information on Yalumba and their wines, head to their website.