This book review was featured in Bartender’s December issue
Heart & Soul by Graeme Lofts is a homegrown initiative designed to showcase the history and depth of the Australian wine industry and the great family names that are behind some of the world’s most iconic wines. Twelve of the nations leading wine families have contributed their historic stories and by doing so have formed Australia’s First Families of Wine. This collaborative work will do much for the ‘histories’ of the Australian wine industry and serves as a fascinating read for wine lovers, history buffs and anyone who wants to learn about Australia’s humble vinous beginnings.
Heart & Soul spans the fledgling beginnings of some of our proudest regions (such as the Barossa) charting their development whilst under the watchful eyes of successive generations. All the families included in Heart & Soul are multi-generational wine families. They have made their name by not only making consistent wine of great quality and regional character but by supporting and often leading the growth of the region they are so firmly rooted in. What makes this research so valuable is the support it received from the industry and the painstaking detail with which it has been put together – it is a true collaboration of passion.
Far form simply being another obligatory ‘wine bible’, Heart & Soul will share with you the histories of ordinary Australian families and their extraordinary journeys.