First Look: Jam House Cellar Door Lures a New Crowd to the Barossa

After more than a year of slow and steady work, Scott Rogasch and Justin Westhoff of Forage Supply Co, Geyer Wine Co’s David Geyer and White Gate Wine Co’s Chad Connolly are ready to welcome guests to their shared cellar door.

The gang has named its shared venture Jam House, which they borrowed from the next-door century-old cottage on their Nuriootpa property. In the ’80s and ’90s, local musicians used that cottage to gather for jam sessions. The outside wall of the cottage boasts a bold mural painted by Arlon Hall, Dave Court and Hari Koutlakis. Nearby, there’s a barrel hall that the team will use for hosting larger groups.

The foursome and their three wine labels aim to bring something new to the state’s oldest wine region.

“The Barossa is full of similar offerings at the moment, and it’s an amazing region, but I’m acutely aware that we need to diversify,” says Connolly. “Our vision is to drag in a different demographic that may, at the moment, go to the Adelaide Hills or McLaren Vale.”

In a prestigious wine region associated with bold, traditional styles, the winemakers who make up Jam House share a passion for producing fresh, minimal-intervention drops. “We’re showcasing that we can do wine a little differently to these big, bold knockout blows, which are great, but not necessarily for everybody,” says Connolly.

Jam House joins similar concepts like Bottle Shock in the Adelaide Hills and Under the Sun Collective in Aldinga. It’s part of a growing trend where brands that might appear on paper to be competitors share facilities and a sales floor. “It’s working really well,” says Connolly. “We’ve all got our unique spin on wine and, from a learning perspective in the winery, it’s been incredible across so many different varieties. We are friends at the end of the day. This site’s a really nice way we can give back to each other.”

Before they opened the Jam House space, each label had been operating separately in sheds across the Barossa, without proper tasting spaces. At Jam House, you can create your own tasting adventure with pours across the brands, plus gins from partner Laneway Beverage Co. Soon they’ll host winery tours where you can sample from barrels and learn how these smaller-batch wines are made.

Quarterly live music events are also in the pipeline, as well as sporadic pop-up food takeovers, which the team will share on the Jam House Instagram.

In the meantime, things are pretty casual. Visitors are welcome to perch on a bar stool, or laze on a picnic blanket, with pours from each label and enjoy the stunning Barossa surroundings.

Jam House

494 Research Road, Nuriootpa

No phone

Hours:

Thu to Sun 11am–5pm

@jamhousewinery

@whitegatewineco

@foragesupplyco

@geyerwineco