(…or vinified maybe?)

Either way I struggle to find a more apt, more succinct turn of phrase to describe our offering of the sweeter variety; ‘The Last Straw’.

Why sunshine?

Firstly, Marsanne (being a Rhone variety) loves the Barossa sun, it thrives here in our warmer climate - the sun ripening the glowing bunches of fruit to vinous perfection…

Secondly - the palate - full of summer childhood memories; sucking the sweet nectar straight from the honeysuckle flower, or the glory of your (pilfered) bounty from neighbour’s peach tree…

Thirdly, the colour - the pale, golden glow of a glorious spring morning, full of promise, deepening as time passes…

(okay, that’s the end of the romantic prose now, I promise!)

Finally and possibly most importantly, it’s the unique way in which the wine is made - in the vin de paille style of Hermitage, France.

So what’s ‘vin de paille’?

Vin de paille (Va~ de - paey) is often referred to as the warm-climate answer to ice-wine. In essence it involves air-drying the grapes after harvest to increase the sugar content. In France this is commonly achieved by lying the grapes out on straw mats - hence the name vin de paille - or straw wine (& The Last Straw!). In other regions throughout the world they dry them on roofs, modern racks, hang them from the rafters or even leave them to dry on the vine, for weeks or even months before pressing.

This process is probably the most time consuming & fraught with peril process to create a sweet wine.

How so?

The Marsanne grapes are harvested by hand (from our Stonewell vineyard in the heart of the Barossa Valley) at approximately 14.5º Baumé (which is the measurement of sugar content within the fruit).

We then lie them out on perforated racks to dry for up to 6 weeks until they reach approximately 19º Baumé.

And this is where the problems can occur…

Too hot? Those beautiful bunches will dehydrate too fast leaving you with no juice to extract.

Too cold and or too wet? The grapes won’t dry and disease and rot become a very real problem.

Too rough in handling the grapes? Split grapes promote rot instead of dehydration and also attract pests.

Not enough air circulation? Without air circulating around the grapes constantly you again run the risk of rot (which is why straw is traditionally used as the matting.)

Yes, it’s a problematic little number - which is why our 2013 is the first release we have had since 2010!

So - with all this fuss, and the myriad of other ways (late harvest, botrytis, fortified, cordon cut…) in which we can create a dessert style wine why do we choose Vin de Paille?

We are quite unashamedly Rhone driven - where both Marsanne & Roussanne have been made into this honeyed style of wine for centuries. Like I quite often say when hanging out in Cellar Door - we’re more than happy to reap the rewards of their vast experience, research & hard work. Let’s do what they do - but with our own little twist (isn’t that just the quintessentially Australian approach?)

This process also results in a beautifully fruit-forward, sweeter wine, but with a clean finish. Not quite dry, the perfect finish to a meal. The perfect accompaniment to foods to be eaten in the sun, tapas - beautiful white anchovies, olives, chorizo or simply fresh fruit… Plus -how brilliant is it to name a meal-finishing wine ‘The Last Straw’?!

Made by sunshine. Tastes like sunshine. To be enjoyed in the sunshine…

Sunshine. Personified. And simply delicious to boot.

Cheers!

-Emily Hay