Bethany First Village GSM 2021 (Barossa Valley)

The village of Bethany was the first settlement in the Barossa Valley in 1842. Predominately European immigrants arrived and began to build houses and till the soil. It was in 1852 that the first vines were planted on the Schrapel Family Vineyards in Bethany igniting a passion and tradition that continues on today, six generations later.

2021 provided us with exceptional conditions for growing high quality grapes. It was one of those years that had a little bit of everything but not too much of anything. We had good winter and spring rains with total rainfall for 2020 being right on the money for a normal average Barossa year (around 450-500mm). This lead to good fruiting conditions and a much more balanced yield than previous, drier years. The growing season then proceeded to give some nice warm conditions but never any of those potentially worrying heat events. Critically, the evening and night temperatures were always on the cooler side.

Sourced from Estate and neighbouring vineyards in the village this is globally popular blend with a very Bethany feel. Parcels were kept separate and whole berry fermented with a variety of skin contact times (7-14 days) and twice daily pump-overs according to stage of fermentation. A small number of whole bunches were used to add further complexity and aromatic interest. Maturation was for 12 months in a variety of new and seasoned oak as well as stainless steel. The final blend was put together in November 2021 prior to bottling.