Samuel's Gorge Wines: Ron enjoys a drop in this jaw dropping location in the Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia
For many of us there's a special place. That dream location where we aspire to be. Where perhaps work and life can blend as one. Most don't get to realise the dream but some do like winemaker Justin McNamee.
Justin came to McLaren Vale in 1995 to help establish Tatachilla but throughout that process he always had a burning ambition to find his own little patch of winemaking paradise and he found it in a little 'barn on the hill' overlooking one of the gems of the region - Samuel Gorge.
Justin McNamee, Samuel's Gorge Wines: "When people first see the gorge their jaws drop. I don't think many people expect to see such a dramatic piece of Australian landscape when they come down the driveway tucked away here on a bend of the Onkaparinga River. It's stunning."
This jaw dropping location - with a one hundred and fifty year old stone wall framing Onkarapinga Gorge - makes this the winery with a view.
It took some time to find, but when Justin stumbled across all this he also stumbled across a remarkable South Australian story. For many years the barn was used to crush olives from a nearby grove. Back at the turn of last century this was a long way from Adelaide but it was a place that offered a sanctuary for one of South Australia's great lawmakers - Sir Samuel Way who served as both Attorney General and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court throughout his career.
Justin McNamee, Samuel's Gorge Wines: "This was a haven of sorts for Samuel Way because it was here on the edge of the Onkaparinga Gorge that he could escape the pressures of life in Adelaide. He planted this olive grove way back in 1912 and fruit from this grove was being pressed nearby until 1973."
Inside Justin's winery today the old olive processing plant and farm implements still take pride of place and it's the Way story and the Gorge he loved which are celebrated. Samuel Way lived in the adjacent Seaview Homestead and if you head out the back of winery and you'll see why the homestead got its name. With a setting like this and the history that goes with it, Justin says we have more than enough to rival the old word charms of many European wineries.
Justin McNamee, Samuel's Gorge Wines: "This wall is 150 years old so there's a lot of history here that makes us unique. There have been 3 or 4 generations in this region making wine so it's high time that we proclaimed our own unique place in the world. And the experience that you get particularly here in McLaren Vale is very unique in a global sense - the food culture the art scene, the wine obviously, the people culture and the coast."
According to Justin, Tuscany and France may have their villas and chateaux but McLaren Vale has places like Seaview and Samuel's Gorge and we should sing their praises from every 'barn on every hill'. Samuel's Gorge Winery will supply the view and the wines. It's located at the northern end of McLaren Vale just off Chaffeys Road and is open daily.
Samuel's Gorge Wines
Lot 10 Chaffey's Road
McLaren Vale
Open DailyPublished 17th October 2010
