Monday, March 7 – Wine and Kangaroos

We have heard a lot about the wine legend of the Barossa Valley and set off today to find out what it was all about and to buy a bottle for dinner. I should also add that the Barossa area is the third largest area in Australia for horses. 

We didn’t have far to go from Nicolle’s house – maybe 45 minutes to a town called Gawler where we stopped at the information kiosk to pick up a map. Once again we followed the Scenic Route…or it may have been called “The Tourist Route” as we hadn’t heard of more than two or three of the wineries. 

One of the first cellars on the route was Jacobs Creek and as we had heard of that we stopped in. The operation was huge…..either a separate town or part of the town of Tanunda seemed to be called “Jacobs Creek” and the vinyards and winery fields and premises were enormous.  We tasted some of the reds, but to our surprise, we didn’t particularly enjoy any of them. So moved on. We had lunch in a cute little café in Tanunda then headed to Langmeil which had been recommended to us.  The winery was much smaller, but once again, we were disappointed in the flavours of the reds. I did buy a reisling which I thought Nicolle might like. The drive through the countryside was very pretty with lots of hills and valleys and gum trees and palm trees. We stopped in at the Artisans of Barossa which serviced 6 separate boutique wineries, and tried a couple and moved on. By this stage we were quite disappointed in ourselves for not finding something we liked. After all, we drink Shiraz, and Cab Sauv and Merlot and Malbec and enjoy them, so why weren’t we finding the tastes enticing? Our last stop was a small and very charming winery called Rusden. We found the Cab Sauv more pleasing here and bought a bottle, but it didn’t really “wow” us.  Then it was time to head back for dinner. We are still perplexed about our reaction to the wines, but remember thinking the same about the wines we tasted in Mendoza. So we have decided we are no connoisseur of wines and will continue to drink the wines we enjoy. When I get back to Canada I will be more conscious of which area the wines come from. Maybe it is the very hot weather than influences the flavor.

Just before dinner, Richard announced that he had spotted some kangaroos down in the valley. So we all jumped into his 4 wheel drive vehicle and set off in hot pursuit. We did see quite a few as we very slowly maneuvered the steep, rocky slopes down into the valley and the equally steep slopes up the hill on the other side. Unfortunately, it was late in the evening and the light wasn’t very good so our pictures didn’t really come out. But it was quite a ride, and quite fun seeing all the ‘roos hopping through the trees and over the brush. Then Richard’s cell phone went and it was Nicolle wondering where we were as dinner was ready and the girls had to get to bed to be ready for school the next morning!!

Jacobs Creek Vinyards

Palm trees in Seppeltsfield

Kangaroos at Nicolle's