Sunday, October 7, 2007

Jacob's Creek

Jacobs Creek
The history of Jacob's Creek begins with the settlement of South Australia. Colonel William Light who surveyed the city of Adelaide in 1836 made his way north east in 1837 to the Barossa Valley, which he named after a famous English land victory at Barrossa in the south of Spain.
When William Jacob first surveyed the Barossa Region in 1839, he and his brother John took up land in the Hundred of Moorooroo. Moorooroo is derived from an aboriginal word meaning ‘meeting of two waters’. The two waters involved were the North Para River and creek, which fed into it. The latter was called ‘Cowieaurita’ – which took its rise in the high land around Mount Crawford – and means “yellow-brown water”, the colour produced from the iron laden soil.

The creek was later renamed Jacob’s Creek after William Jacob and the Jacob brothers' small cottages still stand, overlooking Jacob's Creek.

In 1846 a German immigrant, Johann Gramp, purchased land further up stream. A year later he planted the Barossa Valley's first commercial vineyard, on the bank's of Jacob's Creek.
His first vintage was in 1850, and he continued to make wine in his small ironstone winery beside Jacob’s Creek until his death at the age of 84.

On the original site by the creek, which meanders through the folds of the Barossa Ranges, Johann Gramp’s cellar still stands, preserving the heritage of what is now Australia’s most successful wine enterprise. A major catalyst for this success came in 1976, with the introduction of a striking Shiraz Cabernet Malbec from the 1973 vintage. It was named after the site of Johann Gramp’s first vineyard on the banks of Jacob’s Creek.

Jacob's Creek's fresh, easy drinking style and excellent quality has been extremely popular in both Australia, and around the world.

Jacob's Creek has been the most popular brand in Australia and Australia's leading export brand for more than a decade and is widely recognised as spearheading the country's export growth.
Orlando was rewarded for its international success in 1993, by being named Australian Exporter of the Year - a title strongly contested by companies from all industries.

Then, in 1994, Jacob's Creek was honoured with one of the Australian Wine Industry's most prestigious prizes - the Maurice O'Shea Award. It was the first time the award had gone to a wine rather than a person and paid tribute to the enormous contribution Jacob's Creek has made to Australian wine exports.

An ongoing commitment to quality has resulted in Jacob's Creek being a regular winner at wine shows in Australia and overseas. Over the last three years Jacob's Creek has been awarded more than 800 medals in wine shows globally.

More than 80% of Jacob's Creek is now enjoyed in over 60 countries around the world - making it Australia's most popular wine and Australia's Top Drop.

Yet today you can still walk the historic vineyard site, marvel at the magnificent River Red Gums that line the waterway, inspect Johann Gramp’s original cellar and feel a real sense of place and ‘soul’ for Jacob’s Creek.

Winemaking Philosophy
From the vine to the bottle, the mission for Jacob's Creek is simply to improve the quality of each vintage.

The fruit for Jacob's Creek is sourced from different regions within South Eastern Australia, enabling the winemakers to overcome seasonal variations in any particular region, improve the quality of the wine, and select fruit that will best suit the wine style.
The philosophy behind Jacob's Creek is to offer a fresh, fruit-driven, easy drinking wine that can be consumed without years of cellaring. It must also offer excellent value and consistency.
Jacob's Creek wines promise to always over deliver in quality, for the price. Every aspect of the winemaking process is geared to achieve this result.

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