Celebrating 200 years…

Nautilus is a wee youngster in wine terms, at 27 years old. Although that makes us quite ancient and wise (sometimes?) on a Marlborough scale, it is just the blink of an eye compared to say the Antinoris, or the Hugels.

However, our mates over at Yalumba in the Barossa can trace their history back to founder Samuel Smith, who would have been celebrating his 200th birthday yesterday were he still around to see it.

I wonder what he would have made of the antipodean wine industry today? None of the wines we tasted yesterday were fortified, and NZ winemaking would perhaps have raised an eyebrow from the old boy.

However we decided to honour the old chap in style with a bottle of Yalumba Signature – and by “ringing the bell” – a company tradition whenever something newsworthy happens. CJ rang with aplomb… and unfortunately a little too much gusto, accidentally breaking said bell.

Sorry Samuel. We enjoyed the Signature though.