THE BELL RINGER
I Can’t Complain We’re entitled to feel a little confused, aren’t we? A little out of place, a little out of tune. Discombobulated. There’s a word! Now this scribble may only ever be read by the precious few – I know I can’t compete with the wine offers up the back - however, at least in the past there was a good chance these words would be perused by Aussies from all parts of the country who had much in common in their lives. Some might wear heavier jumpers and longer pants than others for more of the year, but at the very least we all liked wine. Now I’m not so sure. Not the wine bit of course, more about how we are living from State to State. Some of you have spent much of the year locked away from family and friends. Others lived some of the year that way, but not really. Many were free to do as they pleased, while those in this part of the country could do a fair bit of stuff – other than singing or dancing of course - but generally only while masked up and mostly sitting down. Unlike what I learned as a Catholic school boy; it seems that standing up is the real devil’s work. Now we are emerging like the chrysalis gradually heading towards something resembling a finishing line, all at different speeds, unsure what the other side of that line has in store. But that’s not the confusing bit. Back here in Wirra Wirra land things have kept going at pace, like we’ve been operating in a
NOVEMBER 2021
different dimension, despite being subjected to more rules and regulations than Wigley and Trott would have seen in their collective lifetimes. How do you make sense of a strong year for export sales, despite the absence of the Chinese customer (thank you, UK); an unrelenting demand for our cellar door only wines, although interstaters were missing, crowd restrictions imposed and the threat of lockdown ever imminent (thanks loyal Bell Ringers!); healthy sales growth across Australia although much of the restaurant, café and hotel sector were decimated or closed for business (hooray for retail pantry stocking). It seemed at odds with what we saw on our screens and not without the occasional sense of guilt. Observing other industries not in a position to change tack and ease the brunt of pandemic pressure is not a harbinger of joy. While a little perplexed, the Wirra Wirra Tribe has much to be grateful for and little to complain about. Consider: a generous quality harvest in 2021 that sets supply up nicely for the next 18 months; a loyal band of followers who supported us from afar and at home, picking up our wines at their local, or tapping into the online offers we kept up to add a bit of joy into lockdown. Even our State Government kicked in grant funding along the way that helped us accelerate our efforts in international markets, and closer to home, expand our dining set up at Harry’s Deli.
Breakfast at Harry’s P.4
Nothing says ‘it’s the weekend’ like going out for bacon and eggs and great coffee. Unlike the popular café strips in the big smoke, there aren’t too many options in McLaren Vale to get your brekky fix, but fear not...
Christmas Offers All of your festive season entertaining is covered with these special offers
Our humble little café turned five this year and has surpassed all our P.2
P.7