We want to extend our love and thoughts to all that have endured Friday's fires, many of us have had the privilege to visit some of the wineries for social outings and weddings. It is important for all of us to come together and show support to those that have been affected, especially ones that have lost their homes and livelihood.
Wineries have been a popular choice of venue for couples planning their big day with their stunning hill views and perfect sunsets over rows of lush green vines. Now more than ever they need our help and support to get them back on their feet. By buying a bottle of wine, oil or other products available can help them more than you can know.
Links are added for purchasing.
Golding Wines
From Golding Wines Facebook page
"We have faced our worst nightmare today. Firstly we are all safe. Darren stayed at the vineyard to defend but all other family members relocated to the plains this morning. Our beloved Western Branch Vineyard has been badly damaged but the Barn and Tasting Room are ok and our houses and our big shed have survived. Thank you to the CFS crews who rushed towards our property and helped Darren fight this fire. As always we are indebted to you for your bravery and efforts in trying to stop such a terrible fire and protect our property. The threat has not gone, Darren remains there dealing with spot fires and I know there are many others in the Hills fighting to protect their properties right now. Friends and neighbours are suffering losses. My heart aches for our Hills community on this blackest of days. We are down but not out. Please give us some time to process what has happened, catch our breath and work out what comes next. We will now be closed until after Christmas and all bookings over the weekend including our twilight session will be cancelled. We are trying to work through contacting all bookings now.
THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all of messages we have received today. Friends, family, loyal customers, suppliers and strangers, it means more than you know. We’ll keep you all updated. Stay safe everyone. Lucy xx #goldingwines #adelaidehills"
Link to Golding Wines online store https://www.goldingwines.com.au/our-shop/
Bird in Hand Winery
From Bird in Hand Winery facebook page
"Message from Andrew Nugent- ‘’Whilst we have had limited damage to the vines, we have been extremely lucky. Our hearts go out to the hills community who have lost their land, homes and lives. Everyone is safe thanks to the tireless work of the local firefighters and volunteers. We will rebuild and recover with the help of our dedicated staff over the next few days’’ We are closed until further notice while we catch our breath. More info to follow. Thank you to everyone for all your messages and well wishes."
Link to Bird in Hand online store http://www.birdinhand.com.au/shop
Tillbrook Estate
From Tillbrook Estate facebook page
"Thanks for all your kind words. This is inside our winery. Just one charred (empty) barrel left. All the bottled wine has exploded. The heat was that intense it melted empty bottles. All the equipment is fire damaged/ stuffed. At the moment still trying to process it all. Our biggest problem is that we have lost our livelihood, which means we can't pay our mortgage or other outgoings. Today at 11am the Adelaide Showgrounds Farmers Market is auctioning 8 x 6 bottle packs of wine to raise funds for us. This is all the stock we have left from the cellar door, the rest was in the winery. GlamAdelaide is going to help us with an online auction for some of our museum stock, which was stored off site. The aim being with both to get us through the next month or two. A friend is also setting up a gofundme campaign. We have insurance but practically speaking this won't keep us going. It will pay for rebuilding. First target is to get to Vintage. I am sure with all the offers of support we'll be able to make some wine. That's 3 months away. Then the next target is to get the wine in bottle. That's 3 to 12 months from Vintage. Once we have wine again we are back in business. It's just getting to that point and that's where we need your help. Please help by buying our wine at the Adelaide Showgrounds Farmers Market today. Or on GlamAdelaide's auction. Or donating on our gofundme campaign. I will post details as I have them.
Tillbrook has been dealt a devastating blow by the fires. A gofundme page has been set up for donations to support them in this time of need."
Utopia at Waterfall Gully are also selling Tillbrook wines Today (Sunday 22/12/2019) with all proceeds going to Tillbrooks Estate.
Barristers Block Premium Wines
From Barristers Block Premium Wines facebook page
"Thank you so much to all of the support from our friends, family and customers. We are overwhelmed by your love and compassion in what has been a very tough day, not only for us, but our fellow neighbours and loved ones in the Adelaide Hills. Firstly, our entire team is safe and out of harm’s way. Our owner Jan and Maintenance Manager were on site preparing for the worst, until it was no longer safe to do so.
While the full extent of the damage won’t be known for a number of hours, are hearts are broken at the loss of our vineyards. From what we have been told by authorities our buildings and gardens are still intact, with no damage to report.
Our Cellar Door and Restaurant will unfortunately be closed tomorrow while we further assess the implications of today’s fires.
Thank you so much for all the love and support, we truly love our Barristers Block extended family. We will be sure to update you all when we have more information."
Link to Barristers Block Premium Wines online store https://barristers-block.myshopify.com/
Tomich Wines
From Tomich Wines facebook page
"Today one of our ever latent fears was realised. The devastating fire that still burns in the Adelaide Hills has left behind a trail of destruction in its wake. We have suffered quite a lot of damage to the property, but thankfully our house and sheds remain untouched.
Most importantly, we are all safe. We are indebted to the CFS who are still bravely fighting this catastrophic blaze. We are ever grateful and indebted to our own staff who stayed or returned to fight for what was left.
Our hearts go out to all of those who are suffering losses at this time. Friends, family and neighbours.
We are heartened to see the way the Hills Community bands together with the prejudice for action, and opens its doors and hearts to those affected. We know it is this spirit than will carry us all through this difficult time.
Thank you all for your messages of support today. It means the world to us. ❤"
Link to Tomich Wines online store https://www.tomich.com.au/wines
Anderson Hill
From Anderson Hills facebook page
"Friday the 20th was truly horrendous with many hills people losing houses, sheds, livestock and vines. Anderson Hill was unfortunately caught in the firing line and lost quite a few vines and infrastructure. Because of this we will be closed this weekend and won’t open until after Christmas. All bookings will be notified by Molly this morning (I’m a little too emotional to call everyone!) We are lucky that we did not lose or have damage to the cellar door, house or sheds due to the tireless work of Ben and James who stayed to defend along with a host of other people offering help. Thank you. Our region has taken a hit but our hills community is stronger than ever. And thank you for all your kind messages and concern, I couldn’t respond to most as were slightly busy!"
Link for Anderson Hills online store https://andersonhill.worldsecuresystems.com/winery
Many Thanks to our CFS
We also want to give our CFS and Fauna rescue teams a mention for their tireless work fighting the blaze and saving lives. Without your efforts our communities would be lost. These people volunteer their time and risk their lives to help us save our properties and our lives.
Donations can be made to the CFS Foundation at this link
Donations can be made to Fauna Rescue SA at this link https://www.faunarescue.org.au/donations/