Our Community
We at Rieslingfreak are very much engrained within the Barossa Valley community. Below is a list of community activities we are currently involved in.
We encourage you to have a read, learn a bit about the local Barossa community, and invest in a couple of great wine opportunities, where proceeds all go directly back into the local community.
Foundation Barossa
Foundation Barossa is a community foundation dedicated to improving the lives of the people in the Barossa community. They bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to build a long-term endowment fund, which supports effective non-profit organisations who work in their communities.
Foundation Barossa was started in 2002. The Foundation encourages philanthropy within our community to support people and causes close to our home and hearts. The Foundation invests monies, which allows supporting a large number of scholarships yearly.
John’s involvement in Foundation Barossa has been long standing. With his initial contact, of supporting the Kicking Goals Scholarship, he then gained a board position, and now is Deputy Chair of Foundation Barossa. As part of John’s involvement with the Foundation, himself and Dave Lehmann have created the Phil & Thrope wine label, where 100% of the proceeds go back into supporting the Foundation.
Rieslingfreak customers are invited to support John, with his work with the Foundation with the purchase of Riesling or Shiraz, or if you would like to find out more about the Foundation, please contact John direct [email protected]
Barons of Barossa
The Barons of the Barossa were initiated in 1975 to promote and foster the Barossa, its wine, viticulture and gastronomy, to help maintain the heritage, lifestyle and traditions of this great region.
In 2022 John was invited and welcome as one of the Barons of the Barossa. John’s invitation was a result of all the community work he is involved in with both Rieslingfreak and on a personal level. Rieslingfreak is involved with a number of local organisations, whilst on a personal level, John holds board positions with Foundation Barossa, Barossa Enterprises and The Clubhouse. Together with all, of this, John is a great ambassador for the Barossa.
In 2021, the Barons presented John as the 2021 Barossa Winemaker of the Year. As part of the award, John was asked to make a Grenache from the Viticulturist of the Year vineyard, of Will Holmes. Between John and Will they made the 2021 Triplex Grenache. A soft and fruit driven Grenache, and style enjoyed by John and Will.
Sporting Sponsorship
Rieslingfreak are proud sponsors of local sports clubs around the Barossa. Local sporting clubs are vital to country communities. Many local businesses jump on board to assist with the running of clubs, and at Rieslingfreak we are always happy to play our part. We are currently sponsors for the Tanunda Football Club, Tanunda Netball Club and The Barossa Rams.
Rieslingfreak acknowledges the Traditional Owners, the Peramangk, Ngadjuri, and Kaurna people, and their continuing connection to land, waters, and communities.
We pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and Elders.
