If you drive north out of Adelaide in South Australia, there's a point where the names of towns and streets start to have German names and the architecture changes from British colonial to 19th-century German. Every village's main street has a German style bakery and signs touting "wurst" or "wein." When the grass-covered rolling hills give way to vineyards, you've arrived in Barossa Valley.

The pioneers who opened this area up in the 1840s were German-speaking Lutherans fleeing from religious persecution in their Prussian homeland.

A British entrepreneur, George Fife Angas, and his South Australia Company were looking for settlers to develop the new colony and the hard-working Prussian farmers fit the bill. Some 150 years ago, those families and their culture laid the foundation for Australia's prospering wine industry.

Aussie wines with 'get-up-and-go'

It is early autumn in the Barossa Valley, and that means harvest time. There's frantic activity, as grape growers try to time their picking exactly right.

A century-and-a-half ago, the Henschke family was among the first Prussian settlers and their descendents still run a winery near Keyneton. During the harvest season, pickers work through the night to bring in the Pinot Gris harvest, which is used to make one of the few white wine varieties that comes from dark-skinned grapes.

Pinot Gris first gained popularity in the wine-growing regions of Germany, where the wine from these grapes is called "grauer Burgunder." The variety originated in the vineyards of Burgundy in France.

Stephen Henschke heads the company and is the fifth generation in the family business. After a long, dangerous journey from Germany, his ancestors arrived in Southern Australia in 1841.

"They were from Silesia and they grew Riesling there," said Henschke. "It's logical they would have brought cuttings with them." And thus the family winemaking business began.

Although Henscke produces excellent reds, he spent time in Germany in the 1970s learning the art of winemaking and he also makes German-style whites and dessert wines, such as Gewurztraminer.

"Germany was a fantastic experience. When we got back with this education in winemaking and viticulture, I wanted to make changes to things that my father was doing," explained Henschke. "We established more cool-climate varieties, more akin to Germany."

These days, the Henschke family has successfully marketed its red wines across Europe. "The Aussie reds have a certain amount of sunshine and flavors and texture," said the vintner - "a bit of get-up-and-go."

From spirits to wine

Another winemaker in the area, Peter Lehmann, has German ancestry as well but took a much different path to the wine business. The son of a Lutheran pastor, Lehmann was the first in the family to go into winemaking. When people ask him if his father was also a winemaker, he tells them, "No, he was in the spirit business."

"Some people don't get it right away!" he added with a laugh.

When Lehmann was growing up, German culture was still strong in Barossa Valley and church services were held in German.

"When I was young," he said, "I believed that God spoke German, and I believed that until my first visit to South Africa. Then I realized that God spoke Afrikaans!"

In the 1970s, an oversupply of grapes threatened the Australian winemaking industry. Lehmann started a company that bought up the surplus grapes - and later became one of the country's most respected wine producers. Now he is known as the Baron of the Barossa.

More than 160 growers supply to Peter Lehmann wines and 70 percent of the finished product is exported.

Reconnecting to Germany

"Initially our biggest market was England, but we now export to 38 countries," said Lehmann, who turns 80 this year. "One of our growing markets is Germany."

White wines - particularly Riesling - have always done well in Australia, says Lehmann, but his principal grape is the Shiraz, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon. He hasn't yet tried selling his white wines in Germany.

"Lots of German palates seem to appreciate the Australian red wines, particularly Shiraz," said the winemaker. "Germany is a country where they don't care how much they spend on their cars, but when it comes to food and wine they look for value."

Lehmann says that these days much of the old German culture has disappeared, partly because of the two wars fought against Germany, but also due to neglect.

"During the Second World War we were made to feel ashamed of our past," he said. "I tell people now I'm ashamed of the fact that I was ashamed of my own heritage."

The best year yet

A short distance away, Michael Kies, a fifth-generation Barossan, runs his family's winery. He has been at work in the vineyards since he was nine years old.

Kies' family winery is small by Barossa standards, but Kies himself is passionate about winemaking. His ancestors had been grape growers back in Silesia, though it wasn't until 1968 that is father became the first in the family to make wine.

These days they produce quality Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Kies says 2010 will be a good year for his wines.

"With this beautiful ripening weather we've had, the fruit has well-balanced flavors and the berries have been able to fill out beautifully. I think this will be one of the best years since 2006," predicted Kies. "That was a really good vintage for us but I think this one will be better."

With its ideal soil and the German winemaking know-how it inherited, the Barossa Valley has strong potential for good wine. The Baron of the Barossa, Peter Lehmann, believes the area's success was a lucky coincidence.

"The Lutherans came to Australia for religious freedom, and fortunately for us, they were drinkers," he said. "I think Martin Luther said something along the lines of 'He who loves not wine, women, and song remains a fool his whole life long.'"

Author: Carl Holm

Editor: Kate Bowen (jen)