It seems appropriate to go from an empty bottle of Penfold’s Grange to the unpicked fruit on the vine and these plump ripe Shiraz berries will soon make their way into one or more ‘Cradle of Hills‘ wines for their 2014 vintage.

We met Paul and Tracy Smith on the first crushing day of their 2014 vintage. A small group of us started early in the morning and despite some difficult picking around stressed vines we had picked enough by lunch to crush the first batch. By the time we had bucketed the last of the Shiraz into the crusher we we ready for lunch.

Tracy put on an awesome spread with local McLaren Vale produce, their best wines from last year’s vintage and plenty of beer for those not inclined to the vine.

Thank you Paul and Tracy for inviting us to be part of your 2014 vintage.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 792, Deep Purple’ 1/200s f/16 ISO640 40mm