Based in the Southern Barossa, Schild Estate specialise in premium, estate-grown reds. Their wines come with many a story from the Schild family and the local region which they passionately call home. We recently caught up with winemaker James Adams, who will be joining us for Barossa Be Consumed in Sydney on July 13.
Tell us something about you (or your wine) that we don’t know
The four remaining rows of Ancestor vines (planted in 1842) that provide grapes for our iconic Moorooroo Shiraz were saved from the ill fate of the Barossan Vine Pull Scheme in the 1980s. Ed Schild had been pulling vines from the Moorooroo Vineyard when, with four rows remaining, the tractor broke down. He never got back to the task fatefully leaving these irreplaceable vines.
Give us one word that sums up Barossa
Surprising.
You’re going to a friend’s place for dinner, what drinks do you take?
Wine of course. Probably a 2015 Ben Schild Reserve Shiraz or 2015 Prämie Shiraz.
You have been given a cloak of invisibility. Whose wine do you go and grab a bottle of at Barossa Be Consumed?
One from each producer… but I’d replace it with one from Schild Estate.
What’s your perfect night in (or your perfect night out)?
Home with the family, watching some Disney movie for the umpteenth time and sippin’ on a red.
What’s your food or wine guilty pleasure?
We carry no guilt when it comes to food and wine.
What are some of your favourite road trip songs?
Flag Pole Sitta – Harvey Danger, All Right Now – Free, Folsom Prison – Johnny Cash.
What grape variety or wine style most interests you at the moment?
Gruner Veltliner – such a dynamic and versatile wine. Bridges the gap between Riesling and Chardonnay.
Loving the purity and delicacy of wines coming out from Tumbarumba, King Valley and Beechworth.
The not so heavy handed approach to Barossa Grenache is paving way to some amazing examples.
You can ask any 3 people (alive or not) to a Barossa dinner party, who gets an invite?
Christopher Hitchens, Carl Sagan and Joe Rogan.
What food is on the table?
Food that’s been prepared meticulously by Tuoi Do from Fermentasian…
Name your one Barossa ‘must do’
We’d be lying if we said anything other than visiting Schild Estate.
Your most memorable wine? Or the wine that got you interested in the wine caper?
2008 Domaine De Montille – Pommard 1er Les Rugiens.
Showed me that wine can have power, finesse, balance and grandeur all in one.
It was a “that’s why I’m into wine” moment…
You know you ’re in Barossa when you …. See | hear | smell ?
… see the ‘Welcome to Barossa’ sign.
Schild Estate are joining us for Barossa Be Consumed on July 13 in Sydney and July 20 in Melbourne.
