Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Vineyard
- Rebekah Rosenzweig
- Feb 3, 2020
- 4 min read
Barossa’s Best Kept Secret
I have researched and given you the below facts of this local history story because…
You will discover where the fascinating bit fits in. A good friend of mine purchased several copies of my Barossa Valley 2020 Calendar and sent some over to his friends in Germany. One of these copies landed with the wife of the now deceased, Henry Deinhardt as well as a grandson of Henry Deinhardt! There was that special connection for these people of the vines captured at Steingarten vineyard, as Henry was an employee at Orlando Wines.
Please enjoy the read.
In 1847, Johann Gramp, the founder of Orlando wines, purchased land at Jacob’s Creek in the Barossa Valley, where he planted his first vineyard of Rhine Riesling, which today we call Riesling – the starting point for G. Gramp & Sons Limited - Orlando Wines. His wife’s name was Eleonora, née Nitschke.
Steingarten really has an interesting history, it is regarded as one of the iconic vineyards of Australia.
The main story and history of this vineyard comes from the vision of Colin Gramp, Johann Gramp’s great grandson, Colin wanted to see the company expand. He desperately wanted to see it as being the best wine company in Australia, and the most efficient.
Colin was only a teenager, about 17 years old, he was still at school, when things changed. Tragically, on 25th October 1938 Colin Gramp tragically, lost his father, Hugo in the ‘Kyeema’ air disaster. It was not only a tragic loss for the Gramp family (Colin’s mother was Hulda Gramp) but also for the wine industry, as Tom Hardy and Sid Hill Smith were also on the ‘Kyeema’. Three major South Australian wine companies lost their Managing Director at that unfortunate air accident.
After completing schooling at St Peter’s, Colin Gramp joined Gramps Orlando in 1940 as an apprentice winemaker and later became winemaker. Colin Gramp was also technical director of G Gramp & Sons from 1947 to 1970 (when the company was sold to Reckitt and Colman).
In 1954 when Colin Gramp went overseas to study fermentation techniques he saw the pearl wine production in Germany. He realised that the tanks he had fitted at Orlando could also be used to make sparkling wine; there was potential for pearl wine in Australia. At that time they didn’t have the ability nor the capacity. Orlando didn’t know anything about pearl wine production, nor sterile bottling, because sterile bottling was part of pearl wine production.
The result of this 1954 trip was ‘Barossa Pearl'.
This is when he employed Günter Prass, who was with Seitz Werke in Germany who knew about pearl wine production, and production and bottling. Günter Prass was employed to introduce the Pearl wine and sterile bottling techniques to the Orlando company. Colin also ordered some equipment, a further four tanks, together with bottling cellar equipment that could handle delicate white wines, such as the pearl wine, under sterile conditions. This high-tech equipment at the time enabled Gramps Orlando to vintage a complete new style of wine in Australia.
So, Prass arrived in 1955 and the aim was to get pearl, Barossa Pearl, on the market for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, however it was delayed due to cork problems. Instead it was launched on Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, 1956. Within a short space of time of its launch, Barossa Pearl became “the people’s wine” and introduced many newcomers to wine drinking.
Barossa Pearl was a light sparkling wine of only 9% alcohol by volume compared with the sparkling wines today of 12.5% alcohol by volume.
Prass went back to Germany in 1958. He arrived in 1955, he went back to Germany in 1958, and Orlando didn’t know whether he was going to come back. Mark Tummel was left with the production of Pearl and all the table wine when Prass went back.
Colin Gramp went overseas and convinced Günter Prass that he should come back, which he did. Günter Prass came back in 1959 and was appointed technical director of the company. So, Orlando had Colin Gramp as CEO, Günter Prass as technical director, and Mark Tummel was table wine maker, and Harold Pfeiffer was there as fortified maker.
Günter Prass came back, and Colin also employed a winemaker from Germany, a guy called Henry Deinhardt, who was a winemaker. Henry Deinhardt was also employed by Seitz Werke, and he brought Henry Deinhardt out here principally to set up the sterile bottling line. It was a good move. Henry Deinhardt and Mark Tummel worked together for a number of years.
In 1962, Orlando Wines established a vineyard and named it Steingarten (Stone Garden in German). This was after Colin Gramp returned from the trip to Germany, where he had seen Riesling vines planted on steep rocky slopes. He was keen to emulate such a vineyard in the Barossa, he petitioned his family but they refused him.
He refused to take no for an answer and quietly arranged a friend and his tractor to meet him at the top of Trial Hill early one morning, and set about establishing his vineyard. The site was so steep that the tractor rolled away, and the ground was so hard and rocky that it could not be penetrated.
So, Colin did what we all would have done. He blew it up with dynamite!
There are several Barossa names that were employed at Orlando including Keith Fechner (later worked at Apex Bakery, Tanunda), Bill Mattner from Rowland Flat as well as Harold Kohlhagen who lived in Rowland Flat and later his son, Ralph also joined the company.
The photo of the vines at Steingarten vineyard which is featured in my Barossa Valley 2020 Calendar.
#barossapearl #localhistory #sthugo #orlando #orlandowines #rowlandflat #barossavalley #steingarten #colingramp #gramp #PernodRicard #photography
Photo sourced from The Barossa Mag.
Sourced from Youtube.
I wish to acknowledge the below sources which enabled me to write this piece of local history, including interview transcripts of interviews with Colin Gramp, Mark Tummel and Günter Prass preserved by the State Library of South Australia. I also apologise in advance if there are any historical errors.
Interview transcripts:
Until next time.
Rebekah.
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