44 | T HE B A R OSSA MAG
in stubbies and thongs who would
come in, taste everything then buy
$5,000 worth of wine, put it in the
trailer and go home. It was just
extraordinary.”
Jane would return to Yalumba
as Cellar Door/Events manager
with a wealth of experience and
in the year 2000, Robert Hill
Smith offered her the opportunity
to travel around the world on
behalf of his family business to
develop and strengthen market
relationships.
“My initial area of operations was
England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales,
America, Canada, New Zealand and
Australia,” Jane explains.
“At one stage in America we were
in 32-33 states and we had 32-33
distributors so you have a lot of
friends you have to make!”
Not one to let opportunities pass
her by, Jane still uses every spare
moment between marketing gigs to
“go adventuring” as she continually
adds to her increasing list of stories.
But jumping trains in a desperate
attempt to get to a Minneapolis
distributor’s launch from New York
following of 9/11, tops them all.
“I was on my own and I had to get
out. There was no phone,” explains
Jane.
“You just didn’t know… it was the
end of the world. Everybody was
saying this was the first of the
double punch. There was military
in the air and stuff happening on
DISCOVER
the streets…stuff falling out the sky.”
Jane managed to get a printed
ticket for a train, even though it
wasn’t valid, and she jumped the
turnstile to make her escape.
“Once I was past security, I just
hid in the toilet until we were two
hours out of New York…I got lucky.”
It’s these stories and more that
capture her audience’s attention,
yet Jane’s Barossa experiences and
rubbing shoulders with famous
winemakers before they were
famous is what she is most grateful
for.
“It was like I had the best trade
apprenticeship you could ever do,”
she says.
“I learned from John Glaetzer,
that great wines are made in the
vineyard; Robert O’Callaghan
was that you’ll never do anything
harder than make something look
easy but the only way you can
make things look easy is be right on
top of your game and then, from
Robert Hill Smith it was like, the
world is your backyard.”
Whist she has no regrets, there are
some lessons she would teach her
younger self if she had her time
again.
“The trick is to be smart enough
to realise when you are on a good
thing….you can’t be what you’re
not, you are best off playing to your
strengths,” Jane says.
“And don’t throw those barrels up
because your knees are important!”
A NEW CELLAR DOOR EXPERIENCE
NORTH OF NURIOOTPA
After 10 years in the making, Phil and Kevin Liu are excited to share their
wine and story with you. Visit the boutique winery and cellardoor... Now open.
Thurs to Mon: 11am - 5pm
Tues and Wed: Closed
Contact 0406 506 140
790 Research Rd, Light Pass
ubertaswines.com.au
EQ