For our final day in Australia, we headed out for the most relaxing and scenic Adelaide attraction – wine country. With only one day we explored the renowned Barossa region. We visited 5 wineries starting at St Hallet winery, where of course the highlight for us was the talking parrot. Sorry he stole the show! Our next stop was the Rockford winery, which had an incredible tasting room in an old farmhouse. It small enough to feel like a private experience and the Sommelier led us through an unrushed tasting of their wines – all of which were incredibly earthy and delicious. It was a great intro as to why the region turns out such great wine. Next up was Turkey Flats winery, which has a beautiful garden and tasting room. We learned shortly into our tasting that the Sommelier would be going to Brooklyn in a few weeks for holiday. She already had a pretty impressive line up planned (Per Se, Red Rooster!) but we added some worthy suggestions to her list. As far as tastings go, this one was AMAZING. Winemakers are often passionate about what they create but for the average palette, is all of the craft and labor realized? To be honest, most of the time for me it’s just a nice glass of wine – period. Shona walked us through each of the wines, from the growing season to all of the nuances and subtleties of each grape/flavor with incredible passion for each of the wines they make. Her genuine enthusiasm and vast knowledge really elevated the experience for us. This heavenly tasting left us all light headed and ready for lunch. After lunch we visited the Two Hands winery, which has a gorgeous modern tasting room and an outdoor veranda overlooking the vineyards. The wines were the most sophisticated of those we tasted in Barossa and each one had a distinct “personality” – particularly evident from the names (“Love Will Never Tear Us Apart – after the INXS song). Our final stop was to view the grounds at Seppeltsfields one of the oldest and largest wineries in the region with an impressive palm tree lined road.
It was a very sweet ending to our Australian journey. Thanks to Lynn and Christine for showing us the city they love so much. We certainly understand why and wish or time there had been longer! One month for Australia, just not nearly enough.
- Evie
