Fluid Imports Inc.

Jason Schwarz is another in the growing group of quality small Barossa Valley wine makers with access to fantastic grapes as he has a family who have been long-term grape growers, indeed they still are. As such, he is able to take small parcels of their best grapes and make his own wine. Like Kalleske, Damien from Glaymond, and others, he can choose top quality Barossa grapes, indeed, the best they produce from older vines, and make them in the style he wants. It wasn’t easy being the son and grandson of state pruning champions, and when he finished school thought he’d pursue any interest other than winemaking and grape growing- but it didn’t last long…

Schwarz Wine Company was started in 2001, and that year he produced just one tonne of Shiraz purchased from his father’s vineyard. The Portfolio has expanded to include Grenache and Jason is pleased that both wines show the dry grown, low yielding, hand tended vineyard character. His goal in winemaking is to enhance these characteristics, so he uses traditional open fermenters and a basket press. The wines are not filtered and are matured in French oak barrels for subtlety.

Schwarz Wine Company Thiele Road Grenache 2006
I used to catch the school bus from the end of Thiele Road. Our family Grenache block is planted along this dusty old track and has been there since my father’s uncle dropped in the cuttings in 1946. Fruit is hand picked and 50% destemmed, 50% crushed to give some carbonic maceration characters. Soaked for 3 days, yeast is then added and the ferment is allowed to reach 30-32 degrees to increase colour and tannin before reducing the temperature to 18-23 to maintain varietal characters. Ferment is pumped over gently twice a day and hand plunged so that skins do not desecrate. We undertake and extended maceration on skins for 8- 12 days. Malo lactic fermentation is then undertaken in old French oak barrels and the wine is purposely unfiltered and racked twice before bottling 20 months later. Deep ruby red with violet hues in the glass. This wine shows red currants, musk stick, spice, floral and frankincense with graphite wood nuances. The palate shows rich red fruits, with red currants, satsuma plums and spicy musk stick. Pure depth of flavour, with length and persistence. Finishing with fine grain tannins and soft acidity.

Schwarz Wine Company Nitschke Block Shiraz 2006
The Nitschke Block Shiraz is from my family’s vineyard in Bethany, one of the originally settled villages of the Barossa Valley. Planted in 1968 by my father and mother, the vines are still traditionally hand pruned and picked. This dry grown vineyard yields only 1.5 to 2 tonnes per acre. Grapes are destemed, crushed and soaked for 2 days before yeast is added. We then pump over twice per day and hand plunged once. The ferment is allowed to reach 28-30 degrees to extract colour and tannins then chilled to 18-23 degrees to maintain those distinct Barossa Shiraz characters. I undertake extended maceration to add to the wines complexity. The parcel will remain on skins for 12- 15 days, before being softly basket pressed to release only the premium wine. Malo lactic fermentation is undertaken in French Oak barrels, which range in age from new (5%) to 5 years old.
The wine is racked twice and unfiltered prior to bottling as not to loose any of the authenticity. The finished wine is then bottled following 20 months in oak. I make this wine to show the true character of our 40 year old vineyards and let the fruit speak for itself. Very dense red with purple hues in the glass. This wine shows intense deep plum and blackcurrant, with lifted lavender blossom, dark cherries and chocolate. The palate is powerful with ripe dark fruits, crème brulee, dark cherry chocolate, powerful and pure. Barossa Shiraz with long fine ripe tannins.

Schwarz Wine Company The Dust Kicker 2006
The Dust Kicker is a blended wine of premium Barossa varieties from more than seven individual sites around the Barossa. It is a vinous tribute to my work boots, as we spend many hot summer days walking vineyards of the Barossa to select the perfect parcels of fruit to make this wine. Because of the many parcels of fruit that go into this wine I use different techniques to make the finished wine complete. Some parcels have a short soft maceration period (7 days) giving a rich ripe and voluptuous style while others may spend 15 days on skins to add complexity and length to the blend. All parcels undertake malolactic fermentation in old French oak and spend 18 months maturing prior to bottling. The wine is un-filtered to give the true character of the fruit that made this wine.