Vintage 2024 will be remembered as a picture perfect year, a superb growing season, enough rain (just) and warmth at the right times. In the winery we had the smoothest vintage to date. Busy but not to busy. A compressed vintage but a vintage full of highlights. One of the truly great years and something to get really excited about. Great whites, great reds. A year to remember!

Dragan Radocaj is an incredible fine art photographer based in the Barossa. He has taken many of the great photos that I am sure you have admired over the years for us, and most if not all the other wineries of the Barossa Valley. He is a man of rare talent. He also has one of most interesting stories that any individual I have ever encountered. His pictures tell the stories of the Barossa Valley Vineyards, its people and of course its wine.

The annual Vineyard of the Year Awards have been decided, with the trophy winners for the third instalment announced at a trophy presentation in Melbourne on Tuesday night – the first in-person presentation for these awards. Narrowing the top 50 down to the 4 winners was tough I am sure, but some very worthy winners were selected.

Marcus is one of the great people of the Barossa Valley, and Marcus Schulz is a pretty good bloke too. Our latest ‘prize’ from the Auctions has been a great help over vintage. Feel free to drop in and say hello on your way to Cellar Door

Vintage 2023 has been long but very successful. With all the fruit now picked, crushing, pump overs and ferments complete the last few batches need to go thru the press before being barrelled for the winter ahead. What a wonderful vintage 2023 has been. Time for reflection before we hit the road.

Vintage 2023 is drawing to a close. The Last of the fruit has been picked and crushing is done. Now we have 2 weeks of pump-overs and barrelling to go before we can close out Vintage 2023. Then it is time to hit the road and come and visit all our wonderful friends.

Vintage 2023 has finally kicked into gear with more than 60% of our predicted harvest arriving in the winery in the space of 7 days. Our Estate Fruit, Block 15, Primrose Reds, and the 1919 Shiraz all arriving inside a week. Many of our very best blocks are now safely in the winery, crushed and fermenting away. With a few key blocks still to come from the North and East, we still have a month to go but with good quantities and very good quality, both Growers and Winemakers have cause for happiness.

After a slow start to Vintage 2023, today, 3 April marked the start of vintage at Hayes Family Wines for the dry red destined fruit. The first pick, Block 1 from the Estate Vineyard in Stone Well. Beautiful clean fruit, excellent cropping levels (best in some years). A picture perfect start to vintage 2023 for the reds. We expect we will see a lot of fruit over the coming days with Southern Fruit expected from Williamstown tomorrow. Busy times ahead.

Each year towards the end of March we hold a Members Day to celebrate what we do with a growing number of like minded friends. We pick, we make some wine and most importantly we eat, drink and celebrate what is great about Hayes Family Wines. If you missed this year, put a note in your diary, become a member and join us in March 2024, you will be happy you did.

With the red grapes still taking their time, our attention turns to our Rose base, for us at Hayes Family Wines this is equal parts Fromm Grenache and Fromm Mataro. Williamstown typically ripens two weeks ahead of Stone Well and that looks to be the case again this year. The red grapes like the whites looks wonderful, great flavours at relatively low sugars. Andrew is very excited about the rose again this year, we cannot wait.

The Barossa in Autumn signals time for vintage, typically dry, warm to hot days and cool nights. And that is exactly what we are seeing in 2023. The red grapes are ripening slowly, but we have picked the Chardonnay, Semillon and this coming week we will pick the Rose base. The fruit looks wonderful, great flavours at relatively low sugars, and hence potential alcohol. Reds are still some way off.

Syrah and Shiraz refer to the same grape; Syrah is how the variety’s was originally referred to while Shiraz is how it has become known in Australia, with the term then being adopted elsewhere for wines that share the stereotypical Australian Shiraz’s style. But what is the difference in the glass?

The Barossa in Summer is a wonderful place to be. Warm, dry weather as we wait for the grapes to ripen with great hope for the vintage ahead. In this case, Vintage 2023. There is excitement in the air.

Vintage is the best time to visit the Barossa. Each year, between February and May the Barossa is alive, picking grapes, making wine, socialising and celebrating. Every 2 years, the Barossa stages an event to celebrate, the Barossa Vintage Festival. Come visit in April 2023 and join the festivities

The 2022 Vineyard of the Year Awards Top 50 has just landed and we are very excited that our Estate Vineyard has once again got a spot. The awards were launched back in 2020 and we are proud to once again to be one of the featured vineyards. We have made the Top 50 each year. Winners will be announced in February

Community plays a big part in the Barossa Valley. It is one of the key things that makes the Barossa truly one of the great wine regions of the world. We as a small Barossa Winery benefit greatly from the Barossa, and that means at time we need to give back, both locally, interstate and globally. I would not have it any other way.

The last two years, essentially spent with in the Australian borders has been wonderful, but it is time to get back on the road, dinners, events, here we come!

After a period of appointment only, our cellar door will reopen for regular hours from June 1. We have a new team, a new look and some great new wines to show our visitors. So book a time and we welcome you with open arms!

The Barossa Arts Festival is a month long event through April 2022 celebrating the living artists throughout South Australia. Hayes Family Wines are celebrating with local artist, Janette Humble. Janette’s work is vibrant, emotive and expressionistic. We love it and I am sure you will too.

Hayes Family Wines is a very small family owned winery. Years like 2021 are tough. A year of incredible highs and painful lows. But it is coming to an end. A unique year, and we like so many, will be looking forward to moving on and closing 2021 and making a very bright start to 2022.