About Jacobs Creek
The Australian wine brand, that can claim to have started the craze for Australian wine in the UK, is one of the most recognised in the world. Launched in the late 80s, it paved the way for a myriad different brands, and put Australian wine on the map, with the result that Australian wines now account for 20% of wine sales in the UK, putting them in the number 1 position.
There has been a lot of criticism of wine brands by wine experts and writers, but Jacobs Creek, is recognised, and applauded as one of the leading brands, who manage to combine volume, wide appeal, and yet stay true to their roots and deliver high quality wines.
The origins of Jacobs Creek date back over 160 years, when a young Bavarian immigrant, Johann Gramp, decided to plant some vines to try to grow grapes and make wine, to remind him of his homeland. What he did not realise was that he planted vines in one of the best regions in South Australia, the Barossa Valley, near a waterway called Jacobs Creek, which was later to become the name of the brand. And so the story began! He purchased 2 hectares of land and the rest is history!
A long tradition of winemaking then began, as Gramp planted the first commercial vineyard in the Barossa, and over the next 100 years, the business grew, under the careful eye of the children and grandchildren of the founder. More land was purchased, in key wine producing regions of South Australia.
The Jacobs Creek brand was born in 1973, with a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet from the Barossa and McLaren Vale, with a touch of Malbec from Padthaway. The Jacobs Creek brand hit the shores of the UK in 1984, and the love affair of the UK wine drinking public with Australian wines, began!
Since those early days, Jacobs Creek has stayed very close to its roots, and has not expanded out of Australia, as several brands have done. It has focussed on improving quality year after year, and trying out new styles, with the launch of a sparkling Jacobs Creek, a range of regional reserve wines, and now a range of lower alcohol wines.
What Styles of Wine Do Jacobs Creek Produce?
Now the 5th largest wine brand in the UK, and the 2nd most important wine brand, after Hardys, it claims the leading position as a stand alone single Australian wine brand, with no off shoot brands or other names associated with it.
The Jacobs Creek style is all about producing high quality wines, at affordable prices, which show the true essence of Australian style, but move and change as the wine world evolves. There are a number of ranges within the brand, but the focus is always on the delivery of pure, quality fruit flavours, which make a statement about the quality of the brand, and deliver, a fresh, appealing, high quality style of Australian wine to the millions who enjoy Australian wine.
There are a number of ranges:
The Classic range – this is the cornerstone and heartbeat of the Jacobs Creek range, with a range of blends, but primarily single varietals. The soft, fruity Semillon Chardonnay, lightly fruity Grenache Shiraz and fruitily spicy Shiraz Cabernet are probably the best known in the range, and were the first to hit supermarket shelves back in the 90s. A fresh, zesty Semillon Sauvignon has now been added to the ranks.
The classic range also comprises 4 white and 4 red varietals, all classics – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir
The Reserve range – these are 5 wines, introduced to the UK only a few years ago, which clearly demonstrate the focus that Jacobs Creek have on quality winemaking, and the desire to get the very best wines, from the very best soils. This is a range of single grape varieties, each grown in one specific region, which is best suited to their style. The range includes 3 wines from cool climate area of the Adelaide Hills – Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are all best suited to the microclimate here and produce, fragrant, fruit driven wines. From the Barossa comes the classic, bold, spicy Shiraz, and there is also a beautifully rich, currant and eucalyptus fruit packed Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Coonawarra, one of the prime growing locations for Cabernet in the whole of South Australia.
Sparkling – Jacobs Creek were a little late on the scene with the launch of their bespoke range of branded sparkling wines, back in the late 90s, but have since made up for lost time. Most popular are the sparkling brut and Rose, which are both made by the traditional, Champagne method, using the classic Champagne grape varieties, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There is also a lesser known, deliciously off dry, sparkling Shiraz.
Cool Harvest – a new range, launched in 2012, and capturing the trend towards lighter, fresher styles of wine. As the label implies these are wines made from grapes that are harvested in the cool of the night, which thus retain more of the freshness, and lively natural fruit, producing crisper, more delicate, fragrant, and lighter styles of wine, which are also 1- 2% lower in alcohol. There’s a zesty Sauvignon, a fruity Vermentino, and a strawberry scented Shiraz Rose.
The Moscato range – another new venture, capitalising on the latest hot trend for Moscato, which is sweeping not just the US, but the UK also. A grapily fruity, sweet Moscato is complemented by a similarly delicious Moscato Rose.
Premium range – Jacobs Creek also produce a range of premium wines, which are not often seen in the UK. These include the classic Steingarten Riesling and the far better known St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra.