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Here we share our news, provide insight into grape-growing and winemaking, and give you our best tips for enjoying wine (and wineries!).
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It's vintage time in the Barossa! In between picking, pressing and fermenting grapes, Scott and I are still meeting our customers at the cellar door each Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Below are answers to some of the most common questions we are asked during vintage time. How do we decide when to pick grapes? We use a range of factors to choose when to pick the grapes, with the most important being the various aspects of 'ripeness' of the fruit. these aspects include: Baume: This is the sugar content, and therefore alcohol potential, of the grape. Whites are usually ripe at around 10.5-13.5 Baume, and reds at 13-15 Baume, and in March conditions in Eden Valley most varieties ripen at about 0.8-1 Baume per week. This is a good rough indicator but because seasons and vineyards vary, it's not enough to know if the grape is ripe. Acidity: We measure the pH, and the 'titratable acidity' of juice, and it's more important in whites than reds. The titratable acidity is a better measure of how the wine will taste, a juice above 8.5g/L acidity will often be too tart (depending on the variety, style and sweetness we're aiming for), and many years we pick whites as soon as the acidity has dropped past 8.5. Grape taste & looks: As well as these simple measurements, we also look at a range of factors on the grape itself: How plump it feels, the colour of the seeds and stems, how thick the pulp is, and how the juice and skins taste. Based on these ripeness aspects, we will look at the weather forecast to predict how long it is until the grape is ready to pick. Hot weather ripens faster than cold, up to about 36deg. Above 36 it's possible for the vines to shut down and stop ripening entirely until the weather cools down, so it's important we test grapes just before and after heatwaves like the one we've just had. As we get closer to ripe we will test more and more often, to drill down to the exact date we want to pick. What do you do with the pressed grape skins? We feed them to our sheep!

Managing our little cellar door during COVID has resulted in a number of learnings for us including a surprise one, that both our visitors and us have really enjoyed our booked experiences. Making an appointment means we can do a range of fun wine experiences which just can't work when we're flat out with lots of guests. This more personalised experience means plenty of one-on-one time to not only learn about our wines and all the winemaking, but also adapting to what you're feeling on the day such as a tour, getting through all the questions you might have about wine, maybe a little of the latest local banter or a serene picnic out on our lawn doing your own thing. We know sometimes booking can be a chore, so we've made it as easy. We've set it up so you can book on our website, directly from Facebook or Google, the old fashioned way by just giving Bec a call on 0402 788 526 or send through an email on rebecca@fernfieldwines.com.au. We are really happy to have you visit whatever way works best for you. Unique Experiences
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Top Gold for our Shiraz Cab & 30% off to celebrate!
Not sure what we think about Black Friday as a concept, but we just took this not-even-humble-brag photo of us with our TOP GOLD certificate for our Shiraz Cabernet, so it feels right to give you a special deal today on this TOP GOLD wine. 30% off with the code BLACKFRIDAY, ends 10pm tonight. Did I mention it won TOP GOLD? #excited
Our 2024 All Peachy Rosé is finally back on the shelf!
This is definitely not a boring or overly sweet rosé. We pull out all stops to bring you a complex and interesting rosé, guaranteed to brighten your day. Barrel fermented on French oak, with a slightly sweet palate, balanced acidity, and peaches in abundance.
Check out more details from the link in the comments...
We're giving away an Experience Eden Wine Pack valued at $185 RRP!
We've been at it again, doing the hard yards for you of tasting and testing numerous wine and cheese pairings to put together a pack of the most tasty, fun and interesting pairings we could find.
The pack has four wines and four cheeses and guided tasting notes, with a RRP value of $185
Just like & comment "I love wine & cheese" to be in the draw. Also available to enter on Facebook.
Winner will be announced next Friday 🎉
Did anyone catch the incredible reds in the sky tonight!?
Side note; this old gum is one of our favourites and features on our "The Old River Red" wine label range and I thought I'd give a quick heads up that we have our next vintage Shiraz Cabernet just about to release and we're hoping you'll find it a cracker!
Meet our Aunty Buzzy!
One of the benefits of running your own business that we've more recently been working out, is that you can pick out and work with talented and fun people. We're excited to be able to introduce our Aunty Buzzy who is a very talented baker and it is just awesome to be able to collaborate with her.
Scott has so many fond memories enjoying Buzzy's cooking while growing up. Buzzy has always been the preferred caterer for big family events, somehow whipping up amazing meals to feed an army in no time. This demand gradually expanded into the wider community and eventuated in her opening her own bakery last year.
Black Rock Kitchen has quickly become the place for baked goods in and around Orroroo, with her sweet and savoury creations selling out early every week. Next time you're in the Flinders you'll have to have a trip to 54 31 Collective, a community shop featuring local art, jewellery, clothing, gifts, and obviously delicious baked goods!
For us Aunty Buzzy has knocked up a custom apple, pistachio, coconut and lime biscotti to pair with our Riesling and sesame seed and cracked pepper lavosh to pair with our Merlot. You can find these in our latest "Experience Eden" packages online or just give us a call.
Shameless promotion of an achievement, we got a win!
Our Gold Leaf Reserve label won the Australia & New Zealand Wine Label Award, which is pretty cool for our little winery and our label designer Amy Herman at Splitpants Productions. Be sure to check her out if you need graphic design or custom artwork done!
We've got all your summer essentials sorted - well wine and BBQ gear anyway, and who needs anything else? Our summer Experience Eden gift package is on sale until Friday and includes these four wines, BBQ tongs and your own Fernfield BBQ apron, along with important tasting notes such as the best Dad-Jokes to tell while BBQing. Get it posted to you or directly to a friend for a wine-derful xmas present https://www.fernfieldwines.com.au/experience-eden for deets and to order. #fernfieldwines #giftbox #experienceeden #dadjokes
We have a new release of 'The Wayward Girl'!
In keeping with the Wayward Girl tradition, it's one of our lighter reds, an easy drinking Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. This vintage is a touch riper in character than the 2017, with more blackcurrant, along with herbs & spices on the nose, and gentle tannins on the palate.
Another tradition of the Wayward Girl is the ever-changing girls on the label. For this vintage, local artist and friend Amy Herman @artbyamyherman painted our 'Wayward Girl' (the painting is now hanging up in our house) and we love the way the label goes with our new caps.
Come and try at our cellar door or online at https://www.fernfieldwines.com.au/the-wayward-girl
Hey check this out, five stars & 95 points! 👌
We've just had this cracka review come in for our Gold Leaf Reserve Shiraz;
"It's superbly ripe and richly expressed with dark fruit intensity, cake spice, cedar and dark cocoa characters on the nose, leading to an impressively concentrated palate that's plush and expansive. Multi-layered and wonderfully complex with a lengthy structured finish. At its best: now to 2032. $64.00. www.fernfieldwines.com.au" Sam Kim @ Wine Orbit
We'd love to share with you the final wine behind years of work, come and catch up with us sometime in Eden Valley.
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