Meet the winemaker that all of us want to be like

Winemaking fills Bob Colman’s soul more than it does his wallet, but that’s the point.

2018 Frankly This Wine Was Made By Bob White

When I grow up I want to be like winemaker Bob Colman. It takes guts to turn your back on a safe but unfulfilling career in order to pursue a dream.

Winemaking fills Colman’s soul more than it does his wallet, but that’s the point.

His first (almost) foray into oenology happened in the late 1970s when he ditched a commerce and accounting degree at Sydney’s Macquarie University and applied for a winemaking degree at Roseworthy here in South Australia. To his surprise, he was accepted. “Then I met a girl and that changed everything,” he says.

That girl was Adele, who became his wife and mother of their three children. The pair embarked on a life together in Sydney and Colman never did start that degree. Instead, the gently spoken chap worked in high-end computer and telecommunications sales, then real estate, eventually purchasing a small real estate business in Blackheath, in the Blue Mountains.

By chance, the pair’s son Tom Colman went on to study winemaking at the University of Adelaide. During visits to SA, Colman dug deeper. He wanted to find people who did things differently. When wine scribe Max Allen suggested he chat to Basket Range winemaker James Erskine, their journey into natural wine began.

“He got us tasting all sorts of things (made with and without sulphur) and some European natural wines. It converted Tom and me straight away. What’s the point of adding something if you don’t need to?”

Colman decided to give his long-suppressed dream a go. “In the end I never went to uni to study winemaking. For me it’s been about reading a lot, drinking a lot, and asking lots of questions,” he says.

The likes of Adelaide Hills winemakers Erskine, Gareth Belton and Alex Schulkin are only a phone call away with advice.

Rankin made his first “Frankly, This Wine Was Made by Bob” drops in 2016, using a small hand-cranked basket press in his Blackheath shed. He sources cool climate organic fruit from the likes of certified biodynamic grower Clayton Kiely (from Tamburlaine Wines vineyard in Orange) and refuses to skimp on quality.

“That’s one thing we won’t compromise on. If we can’t get organic grapes, we won’t make wine,” he says.

For now, try his current release Frankly, Bob Made This 2018 Shiraz ($26), Frankly, Bob Made This 2018 Chardonnay ($26) and the Frankly, Bob Made This White ($22) are out now. They’re bright, flavour-packed and punchy.

Or, for an orange wine made in Orange go for the Frankly, Bob Made This Orange ($28). This bright, fresh, citrus banger spent six weeks on skins and delivers orange and tart mandarin flavours, a hint of ginger, cinnamon, and a pitter patter of tannins.

Find them at the likes of Sturt Street Cellars and Parade Cellars.

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