Secrets of the Church Block: tales from Wirra Wirra
Posted 17 January, 2019
Clair Morton
What’s in a name? Every good wine has a story behind it, and some of the tales behind Wirra Wirra’s most famous varieties are truly larger than life.
Here are a just few of our favourite stories from the McLaren Vale winery, as told between wine tastings and the sampling of delicious local produce on the Flagships of Wirra Wirra tour.
The Absconder Grenache
It’s a tale almost too bizarre to be true – a boozy cricketer being sent to run a winery as punishment for a stealing a pie floater cart.
But that’s exactly what happened to Robert Strangways Wigley in 1894. After a night of drinking, the rambunctious bachelor came up with the idea to steal a pie cart parked out the front of a cricket stadium.
After a few more beers, he hooked up his horse and rode off down the main street with the cart.
Perhaps feeling his nephew was more trouble than he was worth, Robert’s uncle – who happened to be the Lord Mayor of Adelaide – bought 200 odd acres of land in McLaren Vale and announced that Robert would acquire the land. That’s one way to banish a disruptive family member.
Church Block Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot
After Strangways Wigley’s death, the winery was left to a caretaker by the name of Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean, anyone?), who let it fall into a state of disrepair.
Years later, fruit producer Greg Trott enlisted the help of his cousin Roger to invest in the one hectare of land containing the remains of the old Wirra Wirra establishment.
They rebuilt the winery in 1969 and the first wine was created using grapes from the nearby church block – a parcel of land which once housed the local church. And so one of Wirra’s most recognisable wines was born.
Catapult Shiraz
One of the more unusual features that takes prides of place on the Wirra Wirra grounds is a fully-functional catapult.
The brainchild of Greg Trott, it stemmed from a trip he took to England where he witnessed a trebuchet flinging a flaming car into a paddock.
Greg envisioned that his own catapult could be used to bomb neighbouring wineries with bottles of wine, and thought it was such a great idea that other wineries in McLaren Vale would imitate his catapult creation. Eventually SA might even be known as the ‘flinging state’.
That didn’t happen, but if you’re lucky you might see Wirra Wirra’s machine in action when you visit – the cellar door employees fling watermelons into a neighbouring paddock on special occasions.
Uncover more secrets
RAA members save on Wirra Wirra wine tasting tours.
What’s in a name? Every good wine has a story behind it, and some of the tales behind Wirra Wirra’s most famous varieties are truly larger than life.
Here are a just few of our favourite stories from the McLaren Vale winery, as told between wine tastings and the sampling of delicious local produce on the Flagships of Wirra Wirra tour.
The Absconder Grenache
It’s a tale almost too bizarre to be true – a boozy cricketer being sent to run a winery as punishment for a stealing a pie floater cart.
But that’s exactly what happened to Robert Strangways Wigley in 1894. After a night of drinking, the rambunctious bachelor came up with the idea to steal a pie cart parked out the front of a cricket stadium.
After a few more beers, he hooked up his horse and rode off down the main street with the cart.
Perhaps feeling his nephew was more trouble than he was worth, Robert’s uncle – who happened to be the Lord Mayor of Adelaide – bought 200 odd acres of land in McLaren Vale and announced that Robert would acquire the land. That’s one way to banish a disruptive family member.
Church Block Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot
After Strangways Wigley’s death, the winery was left to a caretaker by the name of Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean, anyone?), who let it fall into a state of disrepair.
Years later, fruit producer Greg Trott enlisted the help of his cousin Roger to invest in the one hectare of land containing the remains of the old Wirra Wirra establishment.
They rebuilt the winery in 1969 and the first wine was created using grapes from the nearby church block – a parcel of land which once housed the local church. And so one of Wirra’s most recognisable wines was born.
Catapult Shiraz
One of the more unusual features that takes prides of place on the Wirra Wirra grounds is a fully-functional catapult.
The brainchild of Greg Trott, it stemmed from a trip he took to England where he witnessed a trebuchet flinging a flaming car into a paddock.
Greg envisioned that his own catapult could be used to bomb neighbouring wineries with bottles of wine, and thought it was such a great idea that other wineries in McLaren Vale would imitate his catapult creation. Eventually SA might even be known as the ‘flinging state’.
That didn’t happen, but if you’re lucky you might see Wirra Wirra’s machine in action when you visit – the cellar door employees fling watermelons into a neighbouring paddock on special occasions.