I had to write a news round up for our wine club members (have a look at the benefits of joining such a fine wine club here) and so rather than use it just once, I thought I would double up and post it in various places. There is some news from the vineyards and winery, some of it old news, other bits new-ish. The main news is that ‘it’ remembered how to rain, for which we are eternally grateful.
KI cellar door open
We opened our new cellar door on Springs Road on the 18th December 2018. It was a protracted labour– Louise and kids and dogs were stranded on the island courtesy of the storms we had in mid-December. The wine was stranded too. We had lots of Ikea furniture to put together. We did it and opened only 2 weeks later than we planned. Thanks to Peggy Bosworth (aged 11 at the time) for putting together 3 Ikea outdoor settings and Jane Arnold, cellar door supremo, for keep her (and our) cool. Great effort. We are open for tasting now. (winter hours Wednesday to Monday 12-4, May to September). You can see the KI cellar door dream team, Ruth and Annabel behind the bar, as it were.
New Springs Road KI wines released
This happened at the same time as the opening of the cellar door on KI. It went hand in hand really. We have a Springs Road Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet. The Chardonnay is pictured. The wines are available at cellar door on the island (183 Springs Road when wet, 761 Playford Highway when dry) AND at the Bosworth cellar door too. And soon, very soon, on our new online shop.
Vintage 2019
Another one under our belts (our 19th vintage actually – I just counted them on my fingers). That means we have to have some sort of ‘do’ next vintage to celebrate 2 decades). And this was our third Kangaroo Island vintage too, as the first vintage we made was 2017. We bring all of the KI grapes back to Willunga to make the wines. I think we know what we are doing now, but honestly after all these years and with all of our experience, who did this? Of course, we never get anything wrong in the office, ever…
Pumpovers
Pump-overs. These are actually a thing! It is the process during red wine fermentation when you drain off the fermenting juice/ wine from the fermenting vessel, and pump it over the ‘cap’ or grape skins which have risen to the top of the open fermenter. The process gives the wine colour, flavour and tannins (structure). It’s an important process so who better to have doing it than the boss. On his birthday. Onya Bozzie
Hotel California
We have had some wonderful people work with us here over the years. Bronnie was our book keeper for what seems like a second but in fact was almost 6 years. She was a veritable terrier when it came to chasing money. She left to go back to nursing, but after updating her training, she was left waiting for the paperwork to go through before she could start work. What to do? Back to Bosworth, that’s what, although this time at the coalface, in the winery in Willunga. Thanks, Bron and great to see you.
KI People
And in other news of leaving, Ruth the Fabulous, who has been instrumental in setting up and running our Springs Road KI Cellar door, is leaving us; she is heading north, swallow-like, to follow the sun. We can’t thank you enough Ruth for your efforts since December, we couldn’t have done it without you. Jane and I headed over to the Island to have lunch with Ruth and Annabel to thanks Ruth for her sterling work. Great tucker from Cactus in Kingscote.
Lambs
It’s lambing season here at Springs Road. While the vines are heading towards their winter dormancy, there is new life sproinging joyously about the paddock. Nothing like a reverse life cycle in a farming system (we do this reverse life cycle thing on our organic Willunga vineyards too – when the vines are dormant, the bright yellow soursobs spring into life and out-compete winter weeds). On KI the sheep keep the weeds in check. Of course when the vines start to stir in spring, we have to get the fluffy little blighters out of the vineyards pretty quickly so they don’t nibble the buds and shoots. Agriculture; always about timing!
Springs Road Tea Towels
Everyone loves a tea towel, don’t they, apart from my kids when I make them dry up. We have just got these into cellar door, and they are based on the early map of Southern Australian which was drawn by Baudin’s in-house cartographer, Freycinet.
We have used this map as the basis for our label, and the map is also writ large on the end wall of cellar door as this awesome wallpaper. We did have to manipulate the image a little, so we didn’t lose Kangaroo Island where the window is!
Rain
We had some rain! It has been a long time coming. Everything is greening right up now. More of the same, please, and keep it coming. We even have some water in the dams, and I noticed a pair of Australian shelduck have taken up residence at the big dam. I needed my Birds of Kangaroo Island book to confirm the identification…
Springs Road KI wines around the Country
The Springs Road wines are now available in Queensland (only very recently), Tasmania and now South Australia, as our distributors in each of these states who already sell our Bosworth And Spring Seed wines have happily taken on the new KI wines. Exciting times for these wines.
Well that’s all for now. Autumn and winter are times for pruning and some much-needed landscaping here at the cellar door. Exciting times.