History and mystique have played important roles in defining today's wine industry in Australia, especially at Chateau Tanunda in the Barossa Valley.

Labelled a 'dark horse' winery in James Halliday's 2011 Wine Companion, Chateau Tanunda have been making highly coveted wines from small, intensely flavoured parcels of grapes since 1890.

In the same year that indigenous NZ Chiefs led 700 Maori's to defend their families against the British (for breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi), just across the way vines were being planted that would eventually go on to win the most elite of wine awards. These first cuttings were pushed into Barossa's steamy earth in 1845.

When the estate's famous two-storey building was constructed from ground up using blue stone from the local Bethany quarry in 1890, Chateau Tanunda came to possess not only the largest building in South Australia, but the largest winery in the entire Southern Hemisphere.

Having recently been restored with the addition of beautiful cobblestones around the Chateau, the sunken garden to the rear of the building has become a favourite tourist haunt while sipping a glass of their fine, silky Barossan Shiraz.

The Chateau is a breeding ground for fine Australian winemakers with over eleven (now) famous winemakers having worked at the estate since its inception. Such winemaking giants include Max Schubert (famous for Grange Hermitage), Geoff Merrill and Robert O'Callaghan (Rockford).

With only three changes of ownership in over 100 years of operation, there must be something special in Tanunda's soil. In 2010, the estate won heavyweight accolades for its 'The Everest' range. Judges awarded them Best Shiraz/Syrah and Best Single Estate Red for their Grenache at the 2010 International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Tim Smith is the current Chief Winemaker at Chateau Tanunda. - Daniel Jess