Vintage 2023 - Time for Rose
The Fromms are Old School, and all the better for it
Vintage 2023
Red GRAPES PINK WINE
While the Barossa awaits the reds for which we are rightfully famous, we are seeing early picked red grapes for Rose being loaded and transferred to wineries across the Barossa for processing.
Rose was once considered a second rate wine, but no more. Most wineries are sourcing specific varieties from specific vineyards for Rose. We want juicy berries, low baume with low tannin. For us, Grenache and Mataro are perfect, and our grapes come from the Fromms in Williamstown.
FROMMs of Williamstown
The arrival of Trevor Fromm signals the start of the Reds at Hayes Family Wines
The Fromms from Williamstown are wonderful people. They also grow some of the best grapes of the Valley.
These days, Ryan runs the show but Trevor, his dad, deliveries the grapes. It is one of the great pleasures to have a chat with Trevor whilst Andrew unloads the truck. For 3 short weeks we share a chat as he is a regular in these parts, between Yalumba, St Hallet and Torbreck, but most importantly for us at least, Hayes Family Wines. Welcome back Trevor!
And the WINERY ADAPTS for ROSE
Rose, albeit made from red skin grapes in our case Grenache and Mataro, runs its own path in the winery. Pick, Crush, Press all done within a short time period (a few hours) to minimise skin contact, extraction and to keep the colour salmon pink.
Fermentation continues at a leisurely pace in a chilled tank to retain the fruit flavours. We typically bottle in May or June depending on the year.
Our Rose Winery Configuration
What Next
With our Rose now in tank, we look forward to the reds. Typically we will see Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro in that order, with the Cabernet often just after the Shiraz. District wise, we typically see Williamstown in the South, followed by Stone Well in the West, followed by Eden Valley and Ebenezer / Koonunga bringing up the tail. But who knows this year, time will tell.