Sunday morning I rallied all available energy to tour South Australia's world renowned wine regions. I headed north to Barossa Valley first, passing through North Adelaide and this beautiful cathedral.
The valley was not overly green, but it still looked very dominated by vineyard after vineyard.
Another shot of the vines.
My first stop of the day was at Chateau Yaldara which had amazing chevre goat cheese. I was not overly taken by their wines.
The Yaldara buildings were very castle like with a very green garden and vine covered walkway.
Next stop was Jacob's Creek Winery. I had to stop just because the label looked too familiar. Their wine is sold in the U.S. and they are known for a low end, affordable $6-9 bottle of wine.
I wasn't particularly looking forward to the tasting as it's not a wine I repeatedly buy.
But I lucked out. I went straight for the mid level shiraz, which told the sample giver I knew something about wine, at least what I liked and didn't like. He showed me all the higher end, more expensive 'not available for tasting' shiraz wines as well, which were lovely. The Gramps $18 shiraz was best value but the Centenary Hill shiraz was superb at triple the cost.
The guy of the couple I tasted next to was doing a school assignment regarding wine tasting in the tourism industry and interviewed our sample giver and me about who goes wine tasting, for what purpose, who knows anything about wine, etc. It was interesting to get a bit educated in the process. Before finishing up, the sample giver recommended I stop by Two Hands Winery which is known for their shiraz. Tipping on other wineries...hmm...I don't know if that is allowed.
This sign reminded me a bit of Margaret River, which was even more dense with wineries. They were everywhere!
Despite chintzy samples from Two Hands and their fru fru $100+ bottles of wine, I knew I needed a break from wine tasting if I was to continue driving. Where was my driver? Clearly the answer was to set off towards the other wine region on the opposite side of Adelaide. Barossa is about an hour north and slightly east of Adelaide, while McLaren Vale is about an hour south and slightly west of Adelaide.
I arrived in McLaren Vale just before all the wineries closed up shop for the day. I had to capture yet another familiar label.
My first and only stop in McLaren Vale was at Simon Hackett winery, where I became fast friends with the woman behind the counter, and even spoke for a while with Simon Hackett himself. The wine was quite nice and the woman kept offering me full pours of the finest one. I had to cut her off, reminding her I had to drive back to the aiport that evening, but I did appreciate the generosity. A guy from Napa Valley wandered in while I was there, and she was beside herself that two Americans could be at the same winery each of their own accord.
Lots of kangaroos went hopping through the vines. Simon said they were not at all a nuisance and he has never seen one trip. We even saw kangaroos boxing! In all the souvenir shops, they sell stuffed kangaroos wearing boxing gloves and fighting shorts and I have never understood it, but apparently it is a common activity among kangaroos and I finally witnessed it with my own eyes!
A glimpse of the vineyards in McLaren Vale. This is an outstanding wine region. Every red wine I've ever purchased from McLaren Vale has been delicious, never a disappointment.
Flowers lined either side of the road along the vineyards. I used up every bit of daylight in McLaren Vale before returning to the city and hopping on a return flight to Melbourne.
