Never give up

I played the long game with this one

It’s the work brief that any eager 27 year-old would want to hear.

‘Get on the next plane to Australia and don’t come back empty-handed'.

It was 2012, back at the start of my wine career, and my boss Rowan asked me to go and find the winemakers we needed to set up Naked Wines down under.

‘Fly economy and sleep in the car’ he added, before I got any notions.

It was the trip of a lifetime - five weeks, coast to coast

I had a handful of contacts, a promising but unproven business idea, and a vague itinerary from Sydney to Perth. This wasn’t going to be easy.

But with youthful enthusiasm and hipster coffee pumping through my veins, anything felt possible.

I ended up taking in all of Australia’s amazing wine regions, and even squeezed in a weekend jaunt to New Zealand, where I found a couple of brilliant winemakers who I still work with to this day (hello Mike Paterson, Rod Easthope!)

One place remained elusive - the Barossa Valley

People think of Australia as a ‘new world’ wine country. But in the Barossa Valley, most of its vineyards are actually older than in Europe. This is because the soils are mostly based on sand. Which means that phylloxera, a nasty bug which wiped out most of Europe’s vineyards in the late 1800s, never took hold here.

The result is an incredibly rich tapestry of very old vineyards, some dating back to when Germans first settled here in the 1840s. And with older vines, you tend to get more power, concentration and flavour in the grapes.

Add in a perfect climate - hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters, with Southern Ocean breezes blowing through to keep everything fresh and healthy, and it’s basically heaven for producing big, indulgent reds.

The best wines don’t come cheap however

The Barossa Valley is home to Australia’s most expensive wines - Penfold’s Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace.

Back in 2012, I didn’t know a soul here. So I sent off an email to the Barossa Grape & Wine Association, basically explaining that The Messiah was in town and would anyone like to meet me.

They put the word out, but no-one bit. I hung around for a while, drank some good wine, and moved on.

Now meet Tim Smith - one of the Barossa’s best

One name high on my list back then was Tim Smith.

Tim has been making wine in the Barossa for over 35 years. He worked for some of the biggest names down there, including Yalumba, Château Tanunda and St Hallett, before going it alone in 2001.

He was named Barossa’s Winemaker of the Year in 2019, and won the IWSC trophy for the best Shiraz in the world in 2010. 

So when a mutual friend introduced us back at the start of WineSpark, I knew the time was finally right.

He's one of the good guys too

Despite the glittering CV, Tim’s as humble and likeable as they come. He plays drums for a band called the Valley Cats - need I say more?

Tim tells me the secret to his wines is his access to great fruit. For decades he’s worked with the region’s best family growers, doing business on a handshake in the pub on a Friday.

He also told me he remembers seeing my desperate email in 2012, and dismissed it thinking it was too good to be true!

If you love big reds and fresh whites, get excited

Tim’s new vintages have finally arrived from Australia. You have four delicious Barossa wines to choose from, at prices I can barely believe myself:

• Bugalugs Shiraz 2024 - a classic Aussie Shiraz - ripe, bold and powerful, with plenty of sweet dark fruit and a savoury edge. It’s brilliant value because Tim declassifies fruit from his top wines into this blend. I’m told that Bugalugs is an Aussie term of endearment (I’m hoping that’s the case)
• Barossa Shiraz 2022 - like many of the truly great Australian wines, this is a blend of multiple vineyards, located in the Barossa and Eden Valley. Each vineyard adds something unique to the blend, and their ages range from 30 to 145 years old! It’s matured in French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered - preserving all the amazing flavours and textures from the fruit
• Eden Valley Riesling 2024 - think of this as a palate cleanser after those rich reds… it’s from a precious 100+ year-old single vineyard, and with older vines you get great complexity and concentration in the grapes. It’s dry, refreshing and punchy - a perfect post-work quaffer (I speak from experience here)
• Bugalugs Blanc 2025 - inspired by a stint working for Chapoutier in the southern Rhône earlier in his career, this is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier and Clairette. It's a refreshing, aromatic and creamy white which is so easy to drink! 

After carrying out some ‘quality control’ on these wines during the week, I reckon they’re some of the best-priced gems on the entire site.

Second time’s a charm...

Five years ago when I was dreaming up the idea for WineSpark, there were no desperate winemaker emails needed.

I had ten years in the industry under my belt at this point, and hundreds of great producers all over the world to choose from.

When it came to the Barossa, it was a no brainer for Tim and I to finally make it happen.

These wines are exactly what you get for your membership - access to amazing bottles that wouldn’t have got here otherwise, at prices that are accessible and fair.