Recently 6 of our top performing trainees were generously hosted by Yalumba on a sourcing trip to the world famous Barossa Valley to participate in the process of making wine and to sample local food produce. Trainees witnessed first hand the love and attention to detail that goes into making fantastic local produce.

We arrived at Yalumba for an amazing tour of the nursery by Nigel Blieschke who described the grafting, planting and growing of differing varieties of grapes.

Following this we got stuck into picking some chardonnay grapes from the vine and we later tasted first pressed grapes from this same area that we harvested. After a tour of the Yalumba winery that included a trip to the cooperage to appreciate the process of barrel making, we sampled some of the fine vinous produce under the guidance of winemaker Peter Gambetta.


After a day in the hot sun we shared a table in the evening with Peter Clarke, chef and owner of Vintners Bar and Grill. This was a fantastic evening sampling local produce including Peter’s homemade chorizo sausage. Peter provided a wonderful setting and a chance for the trainees to learn from such a passionate and talented chef.

The following day we arrived at Langmeil winery for a tour with James Lindner and brother and winemaker Paul. Walking amongst Shiraz vines planted in 1843 that produce the iconic Freedom Shiraz and later sampling this magnificent wine was an incredible opportunity to “taste history”. Again the personal touch was evident with Paul and James’s mum baking a tart especially for our lunch. Sitting amongst the wine vats sharing lunch with the winemakers emphasized the close connection that producers have with the land that is needed to make quality produce.

To round off this experience we were grateful to meet with the food institution that is Maggie Beer and a chance for the trainees to experience participating in a cooking demonstration. A trip here of course would not be complete without more sampling of the local produce.

This amazing experience would not have been possible without the assistance and generous time of Robert Hill-Smith and Steve Linder from Yalumba wines and all of the people who guided us including Brenton Fry and Brian Walsh. Thanks also to James and Paul Lindner from Langmeil who enjoyed this as much as we did. To Maggie Beer and her gang big thanks for your time. And finally to Joe Ahern who shuttled us about with knowledge, humour and patience!