Penfolds - Turning Water into Wine

The Penfolds wines are produced from vineyards in the Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and the Magill Estate. At the Magill Estate you’ll also find the restaurant of the same name – a modern addition offering fine dining accompanied by an extensive collection of Penfolds wines. It’s open Wednesdays through Saturdays for dinner as well as lunch on Sundays, but bookings are essential.

Allow yourself at least a few hours to explore Penfolds’ Magill Estate. If you’re undertaking one of the tours, you’ll need at least an hour. The Heritage Tour includes an historical tour plus a tasting of six wines in the Still House. The Super Premium Tour includes a fabulous wine experience in a private cellar with tastings of five luxury wines. And then there’s the Great Grange Tour, which will swallow up two hours of your time and include a tasting of the famous wine. Bookings for the tours are essential, with all but the Heritage requiring 48-hours notice, so do plan ahead!

Re-corking clinics offer owners of 15-year old Penfolds wines the chance to have their wines assessed and, if necessary, opened, tasted, topped up and re-capsuled. The clinics are held throughout Australia, New Zealand and the USA, commencing the 2014 series with Auckland on 23-24 July. Registration is essential.

Far from producing a legendary wine like the Grange and resting on their laurels, Penfolds continue to evolve and grow. It’s a truly fascinating story. In the words of those at the winery: “Penfolds’ house style emerged from a fortified-wine producing culture and evolved as a winemaking philosophy – a way of making wine – which has had a profound effect on the entire Australian wine industry.”

They may not have mastered the art of turning water into wine (yet) but they have mastered the art of winemaking. I have to say, I was tempted to register my interest for one of the 330 bottles available globally of their 50 Year Old Rare Tawny!