A bespoke new cellar door has opened in the Barossa, chiming in a new era for the much loved winemakers Rieslingfreak.
John and Belinda Hughes launched Rieslingfreak in 2009 and haven’t looked back. The ambitious pair are all about the vertical pour at this elegant new tasting room, dipping into the wine archives that date back to the year it all kicked off.
Prior to starting Rieslingfreak, Hughes was working for the Australian Wine Research Institute and later made wines with Barossa great Chris Ringland. His wife Belinda spent time finessing rieslings for Accolade and was in charge of Grant Burge wines.
Together they’ve found their ultimate calling, making Rieslings from grapes that come from properties in the Clare and Eden Valley in the Barossa.
Yes, they only produce riesling and have found the freakishly cool spot between dry and sweet when bottling the best.
John Hughes spoke to The Write Drop for our At The Bar series.
MY CITY
Tanunda, home in the great Barossa Valley. A land filled with grape, wine food and culture. Everything I love in life – my paradise.
FAVOURITE FOOD MEMORY
Our favourite food memory coincides with a visit to Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in France, and tasting the 1989 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl de Grains Nobles. I remember how sweet and delicious this Riesling was, and can still taste it today. That evening we went to a Michelin-three hates restaurant in Alsace and drank this wine with a Creme Brûlée. The sweetness of the dessert overtook the wine, making the Riesling seem very dry by comparison. Tasting this wine in two very different environments made the wine look completely different both times.
FAVOURITE BAR
When in the Barossa, I love Vino Lokal or Otherness for a drink of wine. The Tanunda Club for a good cold beer. In Adelaide, there are so many bars, but the Good Gilbert Neighbourhood Bar always has something new and different on the list.
DRINK THAT DESCRIBES YOU
I think I would have to go with the obvious here – Riesling! Why, because the variety is so diverse, just like me.
BEST HANGOVER CURE
Rieslingfreak No.8 Polish Hill River Schatzkammer Riesling – made form Polish Hill River in a German Kabinett style. Low alcohol and a whack of acid and sugar.
BEST INTERSTATE BAR
Melbourne City Wine Shop. I love sitting outside in summe and having a few snacks, whilst going through the wine list. It’s always good there.
A WINE WITH FRIENDS
Big fan of German Riesling, so always keen to open a bottle with friends. If it is going to be a red night, I love my Wendouree, and always keen to open a bottle for a special occasion.
FAVOURITE WINERY
I am a big fan of the smaller wineries, and many of them still do not have cellar doors. Juno Wines in the Barossa are doing some great things with Grenache and blends. I am a big fan of Sons of Eden, and year after year Simon and Cory produce outstanding wines, Bekkers Wine in McLaren Vale are also making some great Grenache and blends, and Naked Run in Clare Valley make some sensational Rieslings.
WHERE DOES YOUR LOVE OF REISLING COME FROM
The first vineyard I grew up on in Clare Valley was a Riesling only vineyard. Growing up on the property, had me asking myself what is Riesling? This obvious eventually took me over to Germany. Growing up, my parents always had aged Riesling in the cellar, which gave me an appreciation on how gracefully the variety ages.
THE LEAP OF FAITH TO TRUST ONLY ONE VARIETY
What I love about Riesling, is the diversity of styles we can make with the one variety. We at Rieslingfreak make dry, sweet, sparkling (traditional methode), and fortified. In my mind, there are not many grape varieties in the world, where you can make such a diverse range of wines, as we do with the Riesling grape. I love the name Rieslingfreak, as I think it tells people about the label, even not knowing the story behind the label. I feel this is a real advantage in today’s world, as so many people are interested in the story behind the label, when it comes to food and wine.
A NEW CELLAR DOOR – TELL US MORE
It was time to move to a new cellar door as we were sharing a building with Michael Hall Wines, and we were finding the space was too small for Rieslingfreak. It took about two years to find a property. Location was always my preference over a building, as it is difficult to build a location, and easy enough to create a new building by comparison. The property is on St Hallett Road – opposite St Hallett Wines, and down the road from Rockford, Charlie Melton and Eperosa. My wife Belinda and I worked with architects to build what we now believe is a bespoke Riesling Cellar Door – something light, bright and white, A lot of thought has been put into colours, fixtures and lighting to ensure the best conditions to taste Riesling.
HOW CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN ALL YOUR RIESLINGS
Our Rieslings are numbered. The reason for this is that we make five different Rieslings on the family property. The number represents style and region. We source grapes from Clare (White Hutt), which is the family property, Polish Hill River and Eden Valley. All vineyards have been chosen based on their site location, and the experience of the family and growers on each property.
Our sweet wines are harvested early, the opposite to what you think we may do. We harvest the sweet wines first, to ensure we have good natural acidity to balance out the sweetness of those Rieslings. The sparkling (Sekt) is harvested from the coolest part of the family vineyard.
We ferment all the wines wine a neutral yeast, to ensure each label shows the region and vineyard in the bottle. We believe all Rieslings need three things – fruit, acid and sweetness. Our job is to balance out all those three things. I don’t believe in making all Riesling ‘dry’, should they need a touch of sweetness to balance out the wine.
YOUR FAVE RIESLINGFREAK BOTTLE AND WHY
Has to be Rieslingfreak No.8 Polish Hill River Schatzkammer Riesling. I love this Riesling for two reasons. The first is that sweet Rieslings are difficult to make, as we only have one chance to stop the fermentation, to ensure we have the correct balance of fruit, acid and sweetness, and secondly, because the Riesling is bloody delicious to drink.
