Who would have known that a simple airplane blanket could be such a lifesaver. The hostel I’m staying in provides free linen, but no quilt or blanket. But instead of renting one for 2$, I decided to sleep in long pants, socks, long sleeves and my little airplane blanket given to me in Melbourne. And I had wonderfully warm and toasty night…
Another early start this morning. Don’t know how often I woke up in the middle of the night and the early morning hours and panicking because I thought I may have overslept – turns out the bright halogen lights in front of my window make any time of night seem like day inside my room. Free breakfast consisted of toast, jam and milky tea, though I could have made myself an omelet, was just too lazy.
The tour started with the usual picking up of guests at the different hostels in town. This time, I travelled with two couples from Leeds, one of which had moved to Adelaide and a bunch of girls from Canada, Ireland and France. Shocked and relieved to find no Germans this time around – and nobody believed me that I actually am German. Our tour guide, a lively Adelaidian by the name of Fleur, gave us a short history of the city – Adelaide as a colony decided to become a more exclusive than the rest of the country and not let in any convicts. So here’s where the rich people moved and the money they brought along with them made the city into what it is today, reflected mostly in the architecture – a bit more lavish and luxurious suburban styles. It also made the state more advance in many ways, becoming the first state where women’s rights were acknowledged.
Our first tourist attraction was a toy factory, which built the world’s largest rocking horse right in front of their store and café. I think the stop was more of a chance to buy an overpriced coffee than to admire the rocking horse, but in the end, it was a fun sight to wake up to.
The next stop, which I believe was built into the tour so people wouldn’t be drunk at 10am (only at 10:30am), was a dam, built in 1902 – the Barossa Reservoir. It is also called the Whispering Wall, because it’s curved shapes enables sound-waves to travel from one end of the canyon across to the other, loud and clear.
Heading into the Barossa Valley, a 50km by 50km area in which over 700 grape producers and 73 cellar doors (wineries) can be found, we passed green rolling hills covered in grape vines. Though you had to use your imagination a bit, since the vine were brown and naked, it was a beautiful sight under the clear blue skies and sun. A few fact learned about wine production. Rose hedges used to be planted by the vines, used as natural alarm systems, because they showed signs of pests, disease, mildew and temperature change faster, giving the owner time to save his crops. Also, because of its history (or lack of), the Barossa Valley is a melting pot of all different kinds of wines. Not bound by tradition such as France or Italy, they feel free(r) to try new things, which is why some interesting blends come from this region. The micro climate in the valley allows for all kinds of grapes to be harvested – quite popular at the moment are Riesling and Shiraz, though Cabernet, Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot are also found. Because it is naturally quarantined, some of the world’s oldest vines can be found here, some over 150 years old. Tradition holds that the names of the wineries usually date back to the founder…And what goes well with good wine? Good food, of course. Though we didn’t explore it, the gourmet side to the valley apparently has a lot to offer as well.
The first winery we hit was Jacob’s Creek, a very popular wine for the masses, exported into many different countries. A very modern and eco-friendly visitors’ centre stand close by the Creek after which the winery is named. We learned about the bouquet (the smell) and the palette (taste) and the many different notes that can be detected. Here, at 10:30am, we tried 7 different wines. My favorites being a very fruity and fresh Moscato that tasted like pears and peaches and a lemony, apple-y Riesling… After the very big winery, we visited a very small one, called Winery Simpatico – very simpatico indeed! From the 6 wines we tasted here, I grew to love a sweet and soft Shiraz and an amazing white port called Golden Lightning, which I could just imagine being heaven on Tahitian Vanilla ice cream… Just next to this winery we set up lunch and Fleur grilled up a storm – chicken, beef, pork sausages and kangaroo steak – and served the goods with a whole bunch of delicious salads, grilled potatoes and onions and bread. What a meal! The three girls and I decided that a bottle of that soft and sweet Shiraz would go well with the chilling on the lawn, enjoying the sunlight and a bit of conversation… After lunch, which really did good for our stomachs full of before-noon wine, we went on to the Richmond Grove winery, where we toured the behind the scenes of wine production. Here too we tasted no less than 5 wines, of which I drank every last drop. Again, the Shiraz was my favorite, along with another very fresh light Riesling. Although my tolerance for alcohol really isn’t very high, I was surprised to find I was one of the last sober people in that third winery. How was that possible after more wine than I’ve had all year? SO I figured I might as well make use of the tasting and stop pouring away the last sip in my glass. In Seppltsfield, our last stop of the day that had hedges surrounding it which reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, we tasted 3 wines and 3 fortified wines, meaning muscats and ports. Sweet and strong, those last few sips caught me up to the others (and may have taken me beyond them as well). I must have been as pink as the last glass served to us, which (I forgot exactly what it was) was something with raspberry that looked like Pink Panther Kool Aid. Kind of drunk and craving chocolate, a few of us (including me) passed out on the drive back. And although I thought I might have a hangover by the time we get back into Adelaide, my head is quite thankful for the high quality of my beverages of the day.
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