Five years ago, in February 2020, Jane and I met at the Australian Embassy in New Delhi where she had flown, all the way from Australia, to showcase Eight At The Gate wines to an Indian audience. I had been invited by the Embassy to taste Australian wines, and, hopefully, talk about them and introduce them to my audience. Despite it being our first time meeting, Jane and I got along like long-lost friends. Even after the wine-tasting evening, we stayed in touch via social media platforms and would message each other on and off.
We are both quite pleased that five years later, now, in February 2025, we hung out together at the vineyard in the Wrattonbully Wine Region in South Australia! Who knew! It’s been an incredible experience for me. It feels like the entire Eight At The Gate family has adopted me and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Jane drove me down to the vineyard from Adelaide (~4 hours) over a weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, the wines, the weather, and most importantly, the company. Thank you Claire, Tom, Meg, Max, Prue, Anna, and the puppies Billy, Maple and Zip. I hope to meet the rest of the clan, soon.
The night sky is startlingly clear at the vineyard. I cannot wait to go back and produce some images that I have in mind. I have a suspicion that I will be going back a LOT because I have so many ideas for photographs. And the region is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, like all of Australia.
I was treated to an afternoon of history and food and wines. It was a glorious day with a cool breeze, a warm Sun and some beautiful clouds to add more beauty to the already stunning landscape.
Eight At The Gate’s tagline has always felt super-relatable to me, “…our world of wine where passion, resolve, and a touch of chaos collide in every bottle”! I have a tattoo that states “Chaos Lover”. It really did feel like I was meeting an old friend when I’d met Jane back in 2020.
You can see the entire collection of Eight At The Gate Wines, which are available to buy from their online shop. A 2023 Chardonnay Single Vinyard, a Sparkling Blanc NV, a 2024 Pinot Gris Single Vineyard ( one of my favourites! ), a 2023 Chardonnay Family Selection, a 2023 Rosé Single Vineyard ( a delightful dry Rosé ), a 2021 Shiraz Single Vineyard, a 2021 Shiraz Family Selection, a 2019 Cabernet Shiraz Single Vineyard, a 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Single Vineyard, a 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Family Selection ( delecatable! ), a Sparkling Shiraz NV, and they also have a Sparkling Shiraz NV Piccolo!
One of the mornings was spent attempting to make Rennaissance-like portraits of grapes still on the vines. I’m clearly obsessed and while I believe I like the output of my first attempt, I obviously have to attempt again. And again. Different seasons mean different light and varied stages of the vines and harvest. And I am SO excited to be able to go back and spend time making grape portraits!
The afternoon flowed into an evening painted with the golden light of the setting Sun and a delightfully curated barbecue by Tom.
I, of course, also spent some time posing for some self-portraits in the glorious sunlight. Photographed on the Pixel 9 XL Pro. Most of the images above have been photographed on the Nikon D810.
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