Winemaker Georgie Lehmann didn’t find her calling as a winemaker until she left the Barossa Valley where she grew up ; and while she comes from a strong family line of winemakers – it wasn’t a given she’d follow in her grandfather and father’s footsteps.
She launched her own wine label Gegika Wines in 2021; the nickname given to her by her late Hungarian maternal grandmother. It’s a way of keeping their close bond alive; as much as it is a chance for Lehmann to delve into the art of winemaking.
“Growing up with a winery always in sight, the wine industry was a constant in my life. I knew I always enjoyed wine, but it took leaving the Barossa and the wine industry for my passion to really spark,” says Georgie Lehmann.
“After almost a year on the road around Australia with my husband, I came back with an urgency to re-enter the wine industry with a bang,” she says.
Her own wine journey kicked off in 2021, the epiphany occurring while doing a vintage at Yalumba in the red cellar as a crusher.
“It was my first vintage away from David Franz [Dad] and I just remember feeling so at peace and at home in the winery. The smells, sounds and energy that a vintage brings is unlike any other feeling- it is completely addictive and once you have one under your belt there is no turning back,” says Lehmann.
“In-between my night shift at Yalumba, I mentioned to Dad I wanted to have a crack at making my own brew,” she says.
“At this stage it was more of a curiosity than anything else, plus an opportunity to have what felt like an endless amount of wine to drink was enticing. This is the moment that sparked my dream to life. Dad offered me fruit of a couple rows of Cabernet off the home block. This was a very special parcel of fruit to me; it was my favourite vines to walk through as a child (the Georgie’s Walk). I guess that is the moment that the industry sucked me in, and I haven’t looked back,” she says.
Gegika Wines was born and it’s been a creative outlet for Lehmann ever since.
Georgie Lehmann talks to The Write Drop for our At The Bar series.
MY CITY
For most of my life, I have lived in the Barossa Valley which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I love the sense of community and support it provides. My Favourite city I have ever visited would definitely be Tokyo Japan – mostly because I was in food heaven. So much to explore and eat.
FAVOURITE FOOD MEMORY
A forever favourite food memory will be visiting Ying Chow with friends and family (Gouger Street in Adelaide). It was the place my husband and I went of our first date – the ‘always’ place to go eat with friends to celebrate anything. My favourite dish is the salt and pepper eggplant, or the tea smoked duck with Chinese green vegetables.
FAVOURITE BAR
Udaberri on Leigh Street, Adelaide is the one I frequent the most. I like to sit at the tables out the front, play Jenga and watch the world go by. I really enjoy an extremely dirty dry Martini when there.
DRINK THAT DESCRIBES YOU
Sloe gin on ice with a fresh orange round- spicy and complex yet fresh fun and approachable.
BEST HANGOVER CURE
Extremely Spicy Bloody Mary and cuddles with my English Staffy Jerry. Probably not the best advice but getting right back on the bike and throwing a few cold ones back gets you feeling right as rain. Hair of the dog always works.
BEST INTERSTATE BAR
Stonehouse Darwin. When I was traveling around Australia, we [Turner my husband and I] set up shop in Darwin for a few months and I got a job at this gorgeous wine bar. It was a haven for me, and immediately made me feel at home. With a strong focus of curated domestic and international wines, it solidified that the wine industry had me in its grasp. It was my first real introduction into working behind a bar and drove my quest for all things alcoholic and flavourful. The bar itself is built in a heritage listed stone house and has an outdoor seated area covered in lush tropical plants that would only grow as they did up north.
A WINE YOU’RE ENJOYING RIGHT NOW
Suavia Monte Carbonare Soave Classico 2021 shared with a few close girlfriends last weekend at Aldinga Beach.
FAVOURITE WINERY RUN BY A MATE
Jeremy Evans from Evan Evans wines is doing delicious and fantastic things. Also, my uncle from Max & Me Wines makes an outstanding drop.
THE MEANING BEHIND THE NAME I believe my wines to be an extension of myself. I defiantly use winemaking to express who I am, it’s a creative outlet for sure. I try to let the wine really express the fruit, where it was grown and the contributions from each unique vintage shine through. I try to make my wines, fresh, fun, approachable and not to serious. I believe my labelling and branding to be quite unique and really capture who I am as a person. I hope that each bottle shares a bit of me with the consumer.
All imagery in this feature by John Kruger Photography.
