Chasing big Aussie reds in the Barossa valley

By JIM EAGLES

So you're off to the Barossa Valley in South Australia? So many wineries and restaurants to choose between. It's hard to know where to begin.

Well, who better than Kiwi expat winemaker Chris Ringland, whose own-label shiraz is being hailed as the best and the priciest wine to come out of Australia, to act as your guide.

Wine guru Robert Parker gave it 100 out of 100.

Ringland, who bases himself in South Australia these days, reckons you should definitely allow a week or two to see the place properly.

"There's so much happening in the Barossa now you can't do it justice in a couple of days."

But if you do have only a few days and you're into big, bold, ripe, full-bodied Australian reds - and who isn't? - then his home base in the Krondorf area is definitely a good place to begin.

For a start there's the Rockford Winery, where Ringland produces his stunning wines, which uses a fascinating assemblage of antique winemaking equipment and traditional methods.

Housed in some wonderful old stone farm buildings, it has a great atmosphere, the wines are marvellous ... and you might even meet Ringland who, despite being hailed as a wine superstar, is still very much a modest, quietly spoken guy from Manurewa.

But Rockford is just one of a number of cult-status wineries, most of which produce magnificently big wines, all clustered together in the Krondorf area.

"This little area here is amazing," Ringland says, "with Grant Burge Wines at the southern end, St Hallett, Rockford, Charlie Melton and Kabminye, a new development, just up the road."

But, he says, all over the Barossa are great wineries to visit. "And now it's not just the little wineries that are making sure people have a really great experience."

Among his favourites are Schild Estate and Kallermeister in the Lindoch area, the "amazing" Orlando Wyndham tasting room at Rowland Flat, Yalumba's "superb facilities" outside Angaston and "one of the hidden secrets" in the Willows Vineyard at Light Pass.

When it comes to recommending places to eat, however, he is a little uncertain because "one thing I think the Barossa has been a little bit inconsistent with is restaurants".

Maggie Beer's place at Pheasant Farm is "one of the best places you can go for lunch in South Australia".

He rates as very good the 1918 Bistro and Grill in Lyndoch and the new Bar Vinum in Angaston.

After that, he suggests trying one of the local country hotels "which often have good food and are good fun as well, but you just have to turn up and try your luck.

"For instance, a little place such as the Eden Valley Hotel out in the middle of nowhere has a really strong local reputation."

In fact, if you miss Ringland at the winery you might catch him at Eden Valley because that's where he lives amid 81ha of magnificent 100-year-old shiraz vines.

But, he reckons, wherever you go in the Barossa you'll have a great time "because this is such an extraordinary place".