For the sisters, the styling and ambiance at Z Wine captures memories of their tight knit family, growing up on the farm in Lyndoch and enjoying a “schlück and a schnitter” with grandpa Hedley who inspired them to achieve their dream of making a name for themselves.
He would be proud of his plucky, go-getting granddaughters whose strength of character and work ethic have turned them into the savvy business women they are today. Their courage and determination to knuckle down, has allowed them to navigate their way through the toughest of times, including a global pandemic they say was “petrifying”.
Yet despite all the challenges, the sisters agree that being polar opposites in character means they are the perfect business partners.
“I think we give a lot of ourselves in our wines, in our presentation and in our business,” says Janelle, eyeing off a Zimmy’s dilled cucumber on the Barossa platter in front of her, yet another celebration of the sister’s passion for place, with its perfectly placed slices of Graham Linke’s mettwurst, Maggie Beer’s pate, Owen Andrews’ olives and Nipper Fechner’s bread, still warm from the bakery across the street.
“To me we are offering history in a bottle and capturing a moment in time.”
The Zerk women personify what it means to be Barossan and revel in being able to share what they love most about living in the region with others.
“Sparkling red for breakfast is normal isn’t it?” laughs Kristen.
“I often say to Kristen, it’s almost like the Barossa owns us!” adds Janelle.
“It almost seems like a series of happy accidents… but it’s also us implementing and having confidence in making decisions too, and that’s no accident.”
Kristen agrees. “We have fun, we both have very different personalities and focus on different things within the business and it just works well. We are complete opposites, doing what we love,” she says.
“I couldn’t do what Janelle does.”
“And I couldn’t do what Kristen does,” adds Janelle.