BUGALUGS

Tim Smith focuses on making wines from the Barossa's time proven varietals of Mataro, Grenache and Shiraz.

It was while drinking Condrieu on the doorstep of the famous Hermitage Hill Chapel in Sept 2001, that Tim made the decision to launch his own wine company 'Tim Smith Wines'. The first vintage was made in 2002. All Tim's wines are made with small select parcels of high quality fruit and in small batches of 250-500 cases.

Tim started his wine career as a cellar hand at Yalumba in 1987. 15 years later, with considerable support from the Yalumba team, he was Winemaker with a wine science degree under his belt and won the Winemaker Exchange Scholarship as part of the Barossa Valley/Rhone Valley Winemaker Exchange Program. Since then he has worked as a Winemaker with St Hallett, Tatachilla and Chateau Tanunda. He has also worked on numerous Northern hemisphere vintages, most notably in Portugal and France.

Wines made under the deft hand of Mr Smith have won countless awards internationally, one of the more notable hauls was a staggering 12 Gold Medals at the Berlin Wine Show in 2010. The 2010 London International Wine Show also highlighted Tim’s wine-making prowess, where he was awarded 3 Gold Medals and 3 Best in Class.

As Tim explains in his own words - 'My story started, like many, with a bottle of wine and a dream. For me, it was an early 80’s Yarra Yering Dry Red #2 with the heady perfume and rich fruity sweetness seducing me. I simply had to make my own. My chosen home was (and still is) God’s-Own-Barossa. Here my path was set for my dream combination of the right region and the right varieties. Of course times and tastes change. And life continues to present to us a remarkable selection of wine styles and varietals…

I am fortunate to be in an industry that, despite its lows and because of its highs, has allowed me to forge not just a career, but a lifestyle unsurpassed anywhere else [actually, Bandol would give it a run for its money now I think about it, but Port Power don’t play home games nearby…]

Passionate is a hackneyed word, but that is what I am about this region and what it allows me to do.

The high country in Eden Valley is a great place to spend a few hours riding my old Triumph motorcycle, the local bakeries have the best freshly baked breads anywhere, and if you know the right farmers, the local meat is superlative. Why would I want to live anywhere else?

Within this region, Old Vine Mataro, Grenache, Shiraz and Riesling are found in small pockets and when I discover another small pocket of these I am excited by the opportunity to turn these ‘gardens’ into something special.'