By James Atkinson
Jacob’s Creek hosted grape growers from three of its key regions at the Australian Open tennis to bring to life its ‘Made by Australia’ campaign, which emphasises the role of people, places and passion in its wines.
Barossa grower Neil Hahn, Adelaide Hills grower David Blows and Coonawarra grower Michael Wetherall attended the media tasting of all 52 Jacob’s Creek SKUs available in Australia, conducted ahead of last Sunday’s Round 4 clash between Andy Murray and Grigor Dmitrov.
L-R: Grower Michael Wetherall with Jacob's Creek chief winemaker Bernard Hickin and growers David Blows and Neil Hahn
Above all the tasting once again demonstrated the value for money inherent in the Jacob’s Creek Classic and Reserve ranges, retailing at $11.99 and $18.99 respectively.
Launched in November last year, the Made by Australia campaign was activated during the Australian Open through Jacob’s Creek’s partnership with Novak Djokovic, with a series of short films showcasing what the world number one is made by.
The 52 Jacob's Creek SKUs all set for tasting at the Australian Open
Chief winemaker Bernard Hickin told TheShout that Made by Australia was a logical progression from the previous promotional platform, ‘True Character’.
“The ‘Made by’ campaign is all about the vineyards, the soil, the earth, the terroir, growers and winemakers,” he said.
“There’s a lot of passion behind the growing of the grapes and the making of the wine. If you’ve got the right variety, grown in the right region and you’ve got very passionate grapegrowers, you’ve got a great asset.”
“That’s the reason for bringing growers here today.”
The grapes for Jacob’s Creek wines come from its own vineyards as well as 120 growers, some of whom have been supplying the winery for generations.
“During each vintage, every single vineyard is visited by one of our winemakers or viticulturalists, who work closely with our growers to ensure that the grapes are ripened perfectly and harvested at their peak,” Jacob’s Creek says.
Vintage 2015 looking strong
Hickin said picking had already begun for the 2015 vintage and the early reports are very positive.
“There’s been a lot of press about fires and rain, but what we’re seeing so far is the Chardonnay that we’re harvesting for sparkling looks very good, it’s got lovely delicate lemony citrus fruit and lovely colour,” he said.
“Right at the moment we’re getting very mild weather so the season’s starting to settle down very nicely for us.”
Watch the video below to hear about Jacob's Creek Classic Shiraz Cabernet, made by winemaker Nick Bruer.
The full series of 'Made by' videos showcasing Jacob's Creek winemakers will be available to view later today on the Jacob's Creek YouTube channel.