Chateau Barrosa: in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia

The vineyards at Lyndoch mark the gateway to the Barossa Valley - an area first surveyed by Colonel William Light. Now one hundred and sixty five years on two very determined men have set about creating their very own Chateau Barrosa with a marketer's eye to the future and an historian's desire to correct the mistakes of the past.

Chateau Barrosa's David Pitt explains:

"We're really just doing a correction on behalf of colonel light who intended it always to have two 'rs' and one 's' after a region in spain."

So Chateau Barrosa is a bold statement of intent made by well known horticulturalist David Pitt and legendary winemaker Herman Thumm.

"As you know the barossa valley is one of the great wine regions of the world. but also for the same reason it's one of the great rose regions of the world. But we really haven't drawn attention to that. So this garden is destined to do that."

In many wineries today roses not only provide stunning colour but also serve as an early warning device for fungal diseases. But at Chateau Barrosa these blooms have one job alone - to enthrall visitors as they set out on a journey through the history of the rose. It's a history which owes a great deal to the all conquering Roman army which spread the rose and the vine and to Josephine Bonaparte the wife of that other great conqueror Napoleon.

"The has actually had a huge impact on the development of the rose over the ages because everytime napoleon was about to sack a country she would say could you bring me a rose please darling. And so she developed a very significant rose garden.

And that's sort of what you've created here... you've created a rose garden with roses from all around the world haven't you?

Well we have and the idea again was to create something that was pretty special. people have the opportunity to walk into a garden and basically look at the world's roses in one garden."

No trip to Chateau Barrosa is complete without a visit to the porcelain collection of Herman Thumm or HT as he's known throughout the region.

This 90 old winemaking legend escaped Stalinist Russia in the 30s, made his way to Iran, before finally being interned as a German National in World War Two. Following his release from the Loveday internment camp in the Riverland, HT settled in the Barossa.

"Chateau yaldara was born in 47. It was an old mill but very solidly built and it was just the right thing to start. I worked hard."

Chateau Yaldara is now under new ownership and his latest vision Chateau Barrosa, with its stunning collection of Meissen porcelain is his personal statement about the impact wine and roses have had on western civilisation.

"I built it in the baroque style. these items are baroque items -baroque art.

They really are superb. they are western culture crystalised in beautiful pieces of art."

The Chateau Barrosa Winery and Rose Garden is located on the Barossa Valley Highway at Lyndoch. It is open daily. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards.sa.com.au