By Katie Spain, National Drinks Writer
During a recent chat with esteemed Treasury Wine Estates fortified winemaker James Godfrey, the fortified king said he’d opt for a vintage Port with a great steak or slow-cooked beef cheek. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be an old one,” he said. “Everybody always thinks fortified wines have to be really old but young, fortified ruby-style (fresh, vibrant and not fully sweet) shiraz is one of the joys of life.”
For his pre-dinner drink, Godfrey would opt for a great Madeira with cheese.
“I’ve got one I’m hanging out to drink. It’s an 1827 Madeira so in two years, it’ll be 200 years old. Drinking that will be a celebration with some really close friends. Hopefully I’ll make it to 2027.”
Godfrey has more than 46 years of wine industry experience behind him and many tales to tell. His approach is anything but old school. As festival patron of Neat Sips Festival, held for the second year running at McLaren Vale Distillery from 6 to 7 September 2025, he is passionate about sharing the joys of fortified wine.
Sure, we’ll always have traditional, beautiful, old products that make you sit, ponder and wonder over how good they are but they can also be contemporary. We need to embrace that. Fortified and ginger, fortified and cola, or Vermouth – anything goes.
South Australia’s proud history of fortified wine dates back to the 1800s. Locally made versions of port, sherry and vermouth were all the rage before table wines stole the show in the mid-1900s. Now, nearly a century on, fortified sips are having a resurgence and the small but enthusiastic team behind the festival (full disclosure, I’m one of them) are on a mission to spread the love through tastings, masterclasses and live question and answer sessions with legends of the industry like Godfrey.
“I always had this absolute passion for fortified and was always amazed by blending them,” he said. “There’s this incredible legacy behind them. I started at Seppeltsfield in 1978 and it’s quite spectacular when you can pull out a vintage Port from 1978 and say, ‘I actually made that and geez, it tastes pretty good’.”
Beverages surrounded by nostalgia have the ability to bring waves of joyous memories with each sip. For that reason, I’d also have a glass of Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine. It reminds me of my late Grandpa Baz and has been a crowd favourite for more than 275 Years.
“I used to drink it when I went duck or rabbit shooting,” Baz used to say. “Or when I was working out on the tractor. It warms you up. We drank it straight out of the bottle when we were young. As much as we could get in us.”
Since its establishment in 1740 by the Finsbury Distilling Company in London, the curious elixir has warmed cockles across the globe.
It has long been coveted for its ‘medicinal’ properties. Sales were boosted in 1832 because people believed it protected them against cholera. It is also said to aid digestion. As the story goes, it is an effective aphrodisiac. Grandpa Baz refused to go into detail on that theory. “It certainly didn’t work for me.”
These days, Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine is made by South Australia’s Angove family. They produce and bottle it in Renmark using the original recipe. They’re secretive about the recipe but in a nutshell, it is a wine infused with premium Aussie ginger.
Another beverage worthy of a resurgence is mead. The most memorable thing I imbibed so far this year was a glass of Aurum Mead (aurummead.com), made by a French winemaker based in Byron Bay. It was so much like still white wine I’m still shaking my head in disbelief. The sparkling version is amazing, too.
Viva to the old, and the new.
