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Boysenberry, bramble, black raspberry, mocha and spearmint.

Wirra Wirra’s history is one of wild ideas, sophomoric pranks and outstanding wines. In 1894, Robert Strangways Wriggly founded the winery and ran the business successfully for almost 30 years. But after his death in 1925, his heirs sold off most of the 240-acre estate and the winery was eventually abandoned. Enter fun-loving visionary and “second founder” Greg Trott, whose philosophy was “achieving excellence through hard work accompanied by copious fun.” Greg Trott had a dream: to construct a medieval catapult with which to “bomb” adjacent wineries with his finest wines, in the hope that they might return the favor. Church Block was the first wine produced by the late Greg Trott under the Wirra Wirra label back in 1972. He took the name from one of the original vineyards which runs next to the small Bethany Church (est. 1854) across the road from Wirra Wirra's century-old ironstone cellars. From 1969 until his death in 2005, Trott oversaw the resurrection and expansion of this gem of McLaren Vale.

While typical matches like well-marbled steaks, chops and roasts will work beautifully, lighter meats like lamb, veal and pork also make excellent choices. For accent flavors, pick up the wine's herbal elements with mushrooms, onions, chives, peppery greens like arugula or fresh green herbs. You can’t go wrong with my Lamb Lollipops with Mint Salt.

Wirra Wirra is an aboriginal name meaning “amongst the gumtrees.”