All great things begin with love… that old adage is certainly true for the Membrey family. Starting with a love of a good red wine shared between them, brothers Peter and Colin and their wives, Kelly and Sharon, have turned their passion for a tasty drop to a fully-fledged successful business that serves up their own label of prestige red wines, plus an array of other beverages (if red isn’t your thing) delicious snacks and homemade woodfired pizzas.
Nestled on the outskirts of Barham, in the heart of Murray River Country, you’ll find their gorgeous picturesque small-batch boutique vineyard called Barham Vines. Sitting in a natural bush setting surrounded by tall river redgum trees, horse paddocks and sprawling vines is a converted shipping container that homes this unique and refreshing cellar door, which acts as the newest and coolest meeting spot in the region.
Out in the vineyards, where the first vines were planted in 2012, and now with just over two acres under vine, Barham Vines produces their signature range of Shiraz, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. Chatting with one half of the awesome foursome that created Barham Vines - Peter and Sharon explain that they now produce approximately 450 dozen bottles a season, which is nearly 5500 bottles! Not too shabby for a business that was meant to ‘just be a hobby’!
The grapes are handpicked each season, which allows the Membreys to be more selective when picking and sorting the quality fruit, is gentler on the grapes than machine harvesting and reduces litter with any leaves and debris collected along the way. Their handpicking harvest days have become a popular annual event where locals and friends and families come together to help out – rewarded with a tasty lunch and some wine for their time. The Harvest by Hand Day is a fun, friendly and social event that is open to the public, so be sure to get in touch with Barham Vines or keep an eye out on their website for details and dates for their 2022 picking days.
Sitting down in the sunshine for a tasting, we were delighted to discover their range. The Tempranillo was earthy and fruity, plummy and deep with hints of tobacco and subtleties of woody spice notes left on the tongue. It is also the most popular variety and with very limited stock it is only available to wine club members or directly from the cellar door. The Shiraz tasted rich, ripe, full-bodied and slightly sweeter – making it super delish and super drinkable. And finally, the Cabernet was hearty with blackcurrants, plum and cherry notes and a distinctive deep purple colour. All wines are available to purchase at the cellar door and feel free to book in a sit-down wine tasting first to discover your favourite.
The cellar door sits on a large patch of soft lawn grass under shady trees and swaying festoon lighting bulbs; and is the perfect place to unwind and while away some hours enjoying a catch up with friends, tasting delicious wine, eating scrummy pizzas and relaxing after a busy week. Barham Vines is open Friday evenings from 5pm and Saturdays from 1pm, and the space is so naturally pretty, it would also be a gorgeous venue for a wedding, engagement party or special occasion event.
The lawn has been utilised previously for weddings, with a hired marquee and local food trucks setting up to provide additional catering, on top of the woodfired pizzas and bar range already onsite, and they turned out to be gorgeous, relaxed, rustic country chic events where the guests could really let their hair down and celebrate well into the night – under starry skies and not a neighbour in sight to complain about the noise. Sounds like a perfect party to us!
Barham Vines also arrange their own events and their most popular is ‘Murray River Street Eats’, where they organise food trucks, live music and entertainment on the last Saturday of each month. They also put on ‘Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF) which is an 18+ evening kicking off after 5pm (perfect for after work drinks!) with finger food snacks on offer and their full bar. And on Saturdays from 1pm, weekend relaxation hits its peak with seated wine tastings, wood fired pizzas and charcuterie platters. A cracking combo of a relaxed and rustic country bush setting and a bloody good glass of red, it is an absolute gem of a spot to gather with good friends, eat good food and drink good wine. What are you waiting for?!
All great things begin with love… that old adage is certainly true for the Membrey family. Starting with a love of a good red wine shared between them, brothers Peter and Colin and their wives, Kelly and Sharon, have turned their passion for a tasty drop to a fully-fledged successful business that serves up their own label of prestige red wines, plus an array of other beverages (if red isn’t your thing) delicious snacks and homemade woodfired pizzas.
Nestled on the outskirts of Barham, in the heart of Murray River Country, you’ll find their gorgeous picturesque small-batch boutique vineyard called Barham Vines. Sitting in a natural bush setting surrounded by tall river redgum trees, horse paddocks and sprawling vines is a converted shipping container that homes this unique and refreshing cellar door, which acts as the newest and coolest meeting spot in the region.
Out in the vineyards, where the first vines were planted in 2012, and now with just over two acres under vine, Barham Vines produces their signature range of Shiraz, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. Chatting with one half of the awesome foursome that created Barham Vines - Peter and Sharon explain that they now produce approximately 450 dozen bottles a season, which is nearly 5500 bottles! Not too shabby for a business that was meant to ‘just be a hobby’!
The grapes are handpicked each season, which allows the Membreys to be more selective when picking and sorting the quality fruit, is gentler on the grapes than machine harvesting and reduces litter with any leaves and debris collected along the way. Their handpicking harvest days have become a popular annual event where locals and friends and families come together to help out – rewarded with a tasty lunch and some wine for their time. The Harvest by Hand Day is a fun, friendly and social event that is open to the public, so be sure to get in touch with Barham Vines or keep an eye out on their website for details and dates for their 2022 picking days.
Sitting down in the sunshine for a tasting, we were delighted to discover their range. The Tempranillo was earthy and fruity, plummy and deep with hints of tobacco and subtleties of woody spice notes left on the tongue. It is also the most popular variety and with very limited stock it is only available to wine club members or directly from the cellar door. The Shiraz tasted rich, ripe, full-bodied and slightly sweeter – making it super delish and super drinkable. And finally, the Cabernet was hearty with blackcurrants, plum and cherry notes and a distinctive deep purple colour. All wines are available to purchase at the cellar door and feel free to book in a sit-down wine tasting first to discover your favourite.
The cellar door sits on a large patch of soft lawn grass under shady trees and swaying festoon lighting bulbs; and is the perfect place to unwind and while away some hours enjoying a catch up with friends, tasting delicious wine, eating scrummy pizzas and relaxing after a busy week. Barham Vines is open Friday evenings from 5pm and Saturdays from 1pm, and the space is so naturally pretty, it would also be a gorgeous venue for a wedding, engagement party or special occasion event.
The lawn has been utilised previously for weddings, with a hired marquee and local food trucks setting up to provide additional catering, on top of the woodfired pizzas and bar range already onsite, and they turned out to be gorgeous, relaxed, rustic country chic events where the guests could really let their hair down and celebrate well into the night – under starry skies and not a neighbour in sight to complain about the noise. Sounds like a perfect party to us!
Barham Vines also arrange their own events and their most popular is ‘Murray River Street Eats’, where they organise food trucks, live music and entertainment on the last Saturday of each month. They also put on ‘Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF) which is an 18+ evening kicking off after 5pm (perfect for after work drinks!) with finger food snacks on offer and their full bar. And on Saturdays from 1pm, weekend relaxation hits its peak with seated wine tastings, wood fired pizzas and charcuterie platters. A cracking combo of a relaxed and rustic country bush setting and a bloody good glass of red, it is an absolute gem of a spot to gather with good friends, eat good food and drink good wine. What are you waiting for?!
