Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz (Disgorged 2011) NV

Rockford Wines is a small boutique wine producer based in South Australia's Barossa Valley. They produce high quality traditional wines made from some of the best old Barossa vineyards. Rockford is best known for their Basket Press Shiraz and Sparkling Black Shiraz, which are produced in limited quantities.

Founder and winemaker, Robert O'Callaghan, purchased an 1850s stone settler’s cottage and outbuildings on five acres of land in the village of Krondorf in 1971. He then gradually built a courtyard shaped winery in the same style and from the same materials as the original buildings. O'Callaghan starting making wine in 1984 and Rockford was born.

"During the twenty years prior to establishing Rockford, I worked for several Barossa winemakers. This allowed me access to many of the finest Barossa growers, so by the time I started Rockford, I knew exactly the kind of wine I wanted to make and precisely which vineyard would give me the grapes I needed. It also allowed me to continue the established tradition of winemakers building long-term partnerships with growers rather than owning their own vineyards.

Many of the growers have vines that were planted on their own roots, sixty to one hundred years ago. The partnership not only gives Rockford access to exceptional grapes from ancient vines but also provides consistency and reliability that is not possible from a single vineyard.

The vintage shed is equipped with plant from the pioneer era – I collected these valuable pieces when other Australian wineries discarded them as they modernised. This allows Rockford to carry on the traditional Australian winemaking techniques, but more importantly, the winery is the same scale, age and pace as our growers’ vineyards.

I have always lived in and feel most comfortable with the warm Mediterranean climate of the Barossa where grapes ripen easily. My preference is to make the wine by hand with traditional methods, attitude, and equipment to produce rich, earthy, soft, generous wines that will age; the kind that I drank in my youth.

My grandparents on both sides and my parents were grape growers, so my childhood was spent in their vineyards. My parents moved to North Eastern Victoria where my Father managed a vineyard for Australia’s then-largest family winemaker, Seppelts. In 1965 I followed a natural path and started as a trainee winemaker at Seppelt’s Rutherglen winery.

It was a wonderful apprenticeship in the old, ordered, slow and gentle Australian wine trade. The wines I drank, the winemakers from previous generations with whom I associated and everything I absorbed in that period had a major influence on the way Rockford is today. Although I’ve spent all my life in vineyards and wineries, the pleasure I derive from walking through rows of vines or casks filled with wine has not diminished."  Robert O'Callaghan

Robert O'Callaghan belongs to a genre of visionary winemakers that include Max Schubert, Peter Lehmann, Jeffrey Grosset, Brian Croser and David Hohnen. His protégés include Chris Ringland and Dave Powell.

Rockford Wines has had a profound influence on winemaking philosophy and wine style in the Barossa. Providing the inspiration for a whole generation of winemakers 'the Rockford school' embraces the inherent qualities of old vine Shiraz: the physicality of winemaking where muscle and personal touch transform the process into an art-form; the traditional tools of trade (basket press, open fermenter) and the complementary nuances of American and French oak maturation.  

We want you to enjoy your wines as soon as possible and endeavour to dispatch orders as quickly as we can. It may take us a little longer during sales or peak trading periods, so kindly keep that in mind if you are purchasing for a special occasion.

Shipping Cost

Delivery is free on any order of 12 or more bottles to Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong and rural Victoria.

On orders of 12 or more bottles to all other areas, we cover a percentage of the shipping costs. Shipping is calculated at checkout.

For orders of less than 12 bottles Australia wide, shipping is calculated at checkout.

Insurance

All orders are fully insured.

Standard Delivery

We use Australia Post and a Specialist Wine Courier (Anonymous Wine Freight) for domestic deliveries. Your location will determine which of these delivery services will be available.

Couriers will not telephone ahead to notify you of time of delivery and delivery on specific days can not be guaranteed.

While a large number of destinations are serviced within 48 hours or less, please allow up to 14 days for delivery within Australia.

Specialist Wine Delivery Service

We offer a specialist temperature-controlled wine delivery service called Anonymous Wine Freight to deliver your wine if you live close to the CBD in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Perth, or live in Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Mornington Peninsula or Geelong. If Anonymous Wine Freight services your postcode, the option to use them will appear on checkout. Here is a link to the list of postcodes they service. 

They are highly recommended as they ship in refrigerated transport to climate-controlled warehouses in each metro area before they make their way to your delivery address in air-conditioned vehicles for the last kilometers. In addition, they will even call you by phone at the time of delivery if they encounter any problems.

Please find their delivery schedule below.

Pick-up

If you live in Melbourne, you can pick up your order from our office in Camberwell by prior arrangement. Please select the 'Pick Up' delivery option during checkout and we will contact you to arrange a suitable time for pick-up once the order has been packed.

What if I won’t be home?

If you may not be home at the time of delivery and would like the wine left in a safe place, please give Authority to Leave (ATL) and any delivery instructions in the 'DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS & ATL' at the bottom of the shopping cart, located just above the CHECKOUT button. 

If you have requested delivery with Australia Post and have not given Authority to Leave, a signature will be required on delivery. If you miss the postman, the order will be taken to your local Post Office for collection.

If you have requested delivery with our specialist wine courier (Anonymous Wine Freight), the driver will phone you for instructions if you are not at home at the time of delivery. If he can't contact you, the order will be taken to their local depot and can be re-delivered subject to a $20.00 fee.

Summer Heat Policy

If during hot weather you would like us to delay dispatch of your order to avoid potential heat damage to your wine please let us know. We are more than happy to store your order in our climate controlled warehouse until the weather is cooler. Please add the request in the 'DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS & ATL' at the bottom of the shopping cart, located just above the CHECKOUT button.

Alternatively, we may email you and request to delay dispatch of your order until the weather is cooler. If this happens, you can of course request immediate delivery if you wish.

International Shipping

We deliver wine to a number of destinations worldwide. If you require overseas delivery, please email us with the relevant information and we will advise you if we can deliver to your selected destination and the shipping costs involved.

International orders are supplied GST free. Please be aware that you will be responsible for the payment of all duties and taxes that are levied by your local authorities.

Minimum order requirements apply.