A friendship like no other!
A remarkable 29-year friendship unfolded between Ernst Loosen of Dr. Loosen Estate and the Barry family back in 1995 at the London Wine Fair. Sprouting from a mutual respect and deep admiration for the noble variety Riesling (an unsurprising reason why this excites us so much at CellarHand…), this collaboration of ideas lead to two epic winegrowers deciding to honour each other’s winemaking techniques on their home soil. And, from this collaboration, Wolta Wolta Riesling was born – German craftsmanship on Australian terroir.
Wolta Wolta is a dry German-style Riesling, an “Aussie GG” if you will, crafted within the embrace of the Barry family’s Clare Valley vineyard. Its name, meaning ‘Good Water’ in Aboriginal, was the original name given to the land on which the Barry’s famous The Lodge Vineyard is planted, with a very special parcel of this site selected and grown for the Wolta Wolta Riesling.
Once picked, the fruit is sent to a traditional German oak Foudre, provided by Dr Loosen, where it undergoes wild fermentation, after which it is then raised in the fashion of Erni Loosen’s world-renowned Grosses Gewächs wines – extended time on lees before being transferred to stainless steel for an additional year before release.
It is no simple task for an Australian winemaker to make a German-style Riesling (and vice versa with Erni’s Walhalla wine, made in an Australian style from his Erdener Treppchen vineyard in Germany) but when each winemaker can draw on over 40 years of experience to their counterpart, the collaboration has birthed a truly extraordinary project. Fueled by passion, camaraderie, shared wisdom, and a collective love for Riesling, this project weaves together two strong family narratives, experiences, and the bonds of friendship. We are honored to bring you this exciting wine today.
The Wines
The CellarHand Team