The Barossa Valley is one of the most richly historical areas of Australia. During over a century, a unique community developed in this serene countryside, consisting mainly of the descendants of Germans who had emigrated to Australia in search of regligious freedom. The traditions of the old country were cherised by those who grew close to the soil as they developed a different way of life that flourished like the vineyards they planted on the hillsides. Thiele’s often witty and sometimes poetic prose tells of the people, the customs and the winemakers as Jeanette McLeaod’s illustrations capture the atmoshphere.