Schiller Vineyards

How can it be that a business established in 1864 was a new entry in the 2009 Wine Companion? The answer is simple: Carl Freidrich Schiller arrived in SA in 1855, purchasing his first property in 1864 at Light Pass and soon thereafter establishing the first vines for the Schiller family. For six generations the Schiller family has been producing premium grapes for the best wineries of the Barossa; very few wineries in Bordeaux, Burgundy or California can claim to have had six generations of continuous viticulture under the same family name (a point often missed by distinguished wine writers from other parts of the world). To ram the point home, the underground cellar for the Schiller wines is situated below the original 1860 Schiller homestead (built on leased land in 1855). Only a tiny quantity of the estate vineyards (shiraz, mataro, grenache, semillon, chardonnay, savagnin, riesling, merlot and cabernet sauvignon) is vinified under the Schiller Vineyards label. -JAMES HALLIDAY