Cellar door, a “sensous impression!” A euphonic compound noun, phonaesthesia. “Slide down my rainbow, into my cellar door, […] and we’ll be jolly friends, forever more” And the way Australians refer to the tasting room at a winery.

The term “cellar door” is considered one of the most beautiful phrases in the English language, and while not used regularly in American English, it is referenced in one of those old childhood clapping games, “Say Say Oh Playmate” where they talk about rain barrels and games with old friends.

I worked a harvest in Australia in 2016 at Mt. Langhi Ghiran, in the Grampians region, about two hours west of Melbourne. When the fires began ripping through the country in the summer of 2019, I watched the videos over and over again, thinking about my time there and how we had suffered (on a much smaller scale) similar terrible wildfires in California.

A portion of the proceeds from this wine will be donated to Australian wildfire relief.

My friend Alex, who I became friends with when I worked at Mt. Langhi (and who came up with the clever pun of Vitis Jenifera) now runs his own little winery called Little Brunswick Wine Co., you should check them out!!