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Ben Glaetzer was voted "New World Winemaker of the Year" in the 2006 Wine Behind the Label guide by David Moore and Philip Williamson.
His work in shaping the Glaetzer, Heartland and Mitolo holdings in South Australia has won him may accolades and his wines are some of the hottest properties around the drinker's world.
I had a chance to meet him in London recently and to taste a range of his wines.
Ben was born in Rutherglen, Victoria, where his father, Colin was the winemaker at Seppelts. Not long afterwards, the family moved to Seppelts Great Western, nearer to the border with South Australia. Colin was chief winemaker, making mainly sparkling wines.
In 1985, the family moved again, this time to the Barossa Valley where Colin was responsible for creating the E & E Black Pepper Shiraz amongst others, for Barossa Valley Estates. In 1995 he decided to "go it alone" by setting up, with his family, Glaetzer wines, in the heart of the Barossa Valley at Tenunda, concentrating on producing Shiraz and sparkling Shiraz.
In the meantime, Ben had started at Roseworthy college, to obtain his degree in oenology, which he completed in 1997. He worked for a short time at Barossa Valley Estates before going to become a winemaker at Tyrrell's in the Hunter Valley. He also did various stints in Europe, working in places as far apart (literally as well as metaphorically) as Bordeaux and Armenia. In 2000, he returned to the Barossa to help set up the Barossa Vintners - a production facility managed by Ben and his father Colin. He produced wine for the ten winemaker shareholders (including Glaetzer Wines), as per their specifications, as well as a number of other producers. In 2003, this resulted in 960 wines being made from 26 different grape varieties.
In 2002, Ben took over the winemaking responsibilities of Glaetzer wines from his father. Glaetzer Wines do not own any vineyards themselves, but rely on two old established growers in the Barossa, to whom they pay top money to get the best quality grapes. Around the same time, he set up, with a group of "wine identities", Heartland Wines, producing wines from vineyards in the Limestone Coast and Langhorne Creek. He is also in partnership with Frank Mitolo, whose vineyards in McLaren Vale and the Barossa provide fruit for the Mitolo range of wines.
His work in shaping the Glaetzer, Heartland and Mitolo holdings in South Australia has won him may accolades and his wines are some of the hottest properties around the drinker's world.
I had a chance to meet him in London recently and to taste a range of his wines.
Ben was born in Rutherglen, Victoria, where his father, Colin was the winemaker at Seppelts. Not long afterwards, the family moved to Seppelts Great Western, nearer to the border with South Australia. Colin was chief winemaker, making mainly sparkling wines.
In 1985, the family moved again, this time to the Barossa Valley where Colin was responsible for creating the E & E Black Pepper Shiraz amongst others, for Barossa Valley Estates. In 1995 he decided to "go it alone" by setting up, with his family, Glaetzer wines, in the heart of the Barossa Valley at Tenunda, concentrating on producing Shiraz and sparkling Shiraz.
In the meantime, Ben had started at Roseworthy college, to obtain his degree in oenology, which he completed in 1997. He worked for a short time at Barossa Valley Estates before going to become a winemaker at Tyrrell's in the Hunter Valley. He also did various stints in Europe, working in places as far apart (literally as well as metaphorically) as Bordeaux and Armenia. In 2000, he returned to the Barossa to help set up the Barossa Vintners - a production facility managed by Ben and his father Colin. He produced wine for the ten winemaker shareholders (including Glaetzer Wines), as per their specifications, as well as a number of other producers. In 2003, this resulted in 960 wines being made from 26 different grape varieties.
In 2002, Ben took over the winemaking responsibilities of Glaetzer wines from his father. Glaetzer Wines do not own any vineyards themselves, but rely on two old established growers in the Barossa, to whom they pay top money to get the best quality grapes. Around the same time, he set up, with a group of "wine identities", Heartland Wines, producing wines from vineyards in the Limestone Coast and Langhorne Creek. He is also in partnership with Frank Mitolo, whose vineyards in McLaren Vale and the Barossa provide fruit for the Mitolo range of wines.
...Ben's indefatigable energy is summed up in his winemaking philosophy - "great wines are made in the vineyard, but there's room for improvement all the time". It started off with Ben taking a long look at his vineyard suppliers in order to improve the wines. He thought flavours from the wines produced in these vineyards was not representative of what he felt was their true potential.
So he set about it by experimenting with blends made by selecting parcels of vines reflecting the different nuances of the soil- including the blending of old and young vines to achieve more subtlety in the wines and expression of the terroir. Coupled with new choices of oak in the maturation process (he now even has some barriques made by a Frenchman in the USA and shipped out to him via France!) has led him to make a quantum leap forward in the quality of his wines which he had hitherto regarded as being "too jammy".
The result of all this dedication and hard work has enabled Ben to be regarded as one of the leading winemakers in the world. Ben's ability to implement traditional winemaking techniques with a modern flair is reflected in the quality of all the wines he produces. It goes without saying that meticulous vineyard management coupled with thoughtful winemaking has brought Ben the accolades he deserves.
What of the future, then? Well a man of Ben's energy and foresight will keep him reaching for greater challenges. At the moment he is playing about with a number of different varieties, but at the same time, he's making sure that what he produces meets his own high standards. Nevertheless, don't be surprised to see wines made from Sagrantino and Arneis hitting the shelves in the not too distant future.
For further details on Ben's wines, take a look sometime at the websites...
www.glaetzer.com
www.mitolowines.com.au
www.heartlandwines.com.au
Or you can...
So he set about it by experimenting with blends made by selecting parcels of vines reflecting the different nuances of the soil- including the blending of old and young vines to achieve more subtlety in the wines and expression of the terroir. Coupled with new choices of oak in the maturation process (he now even has some barriques made by a Frenchman in the USA and shipped out to him via France!) has led him to make a quantum leap forward in the quality of his wines which he had hitherto regarded as being "too jammy".
The result of all this dedication and hard work has enabled Ben to be regarded as one of the leading winemakers in the world. Ben's ability to implement traditional winemaking techniques with a modern flair is reflected in the quality of all the wines he produces. It goes without saying that meticulous vineyard management coupled with thoughtful winemaking has brought Ben the accolades he deserves.
What of the future, then? Well a man of Ben's energy and foresight will keep him reaching for greater challenges. At the moment he is playing about with a number of different varieties, but at the same time, he's making sure that what he produces meets his own high standards. Nevertheless, don't be surprised to see wines made from Sagrantino and Arneis hitting the shelves in the not too distant future.
For further details on Ben's wines, take a look sometime at the websites...
www.glaetzer.com
www.mitolowines.com.au
www.heartlandwines.com.au
Or you can...
