The Barossa Valley – a must do, if you are in the area and are even remotely interested in wine. We managed to actually get 4 cellar doors in on this occasion, but considering the vast number of them, this was still a tiny tiny number. We managed to hit Turkey Flat, Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Langmeil. Turkey Flat – http://www.turkeyflat.com.au/home/ wasn’t that great as the representative really didn’t want to be there and it showed, so this wasn’t a great start, especially as the wines weren’t particularly good either. In the Cellar Door, they were only tasting 2011 wines, which as you would expect, were young and as such, quite thin!!! Look at me, thinking like I know what I am talking about!! 🙂
We then headed over to Penfolds – www.penfolds.com as one of the largest and most commercial producers, they have a very slick set up, and some very nice (as well as expensive) wines. But what stood this apart from the others was the ‘make your own blend’ experience. Brilliant fun and you come out of it with your very own GSM Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre blend. Really great experience and educational too.
On to Wolf Blass http://www.wolfblasswines.com/ and again as a global distributor of their wines, they have quite a good setup with a restaurant should you wish to eat, as well as a little exhibition showing the history of the brand. Makes for an interesting little tour and again the people at the cellar door made the experience. They were knowledgeable but also interested. Not only in the wines, but in the fact that I was visiting from Dubai.
One of the big things in Oz, is that come closing time, everyone shuts up shop and gets on with their lives. Good for work life balance, but that meant that we had to rush across to one last vineyard whilst were there. We wanted to go to Langmeil – http://www.langmeilwinery.com.au/ as they have some of the oldest vines in the Barossa region and are a very good wine producer. Once again, it was the attitude of the lady helping us with the tasting that made this a special visit. We had assumed, that it was a 5pm close like everyone else and walked into the cellar door at 4.25pm. As it was towards the end of the day we were lucky enough to try some of the ‘special’ wines that weren’t for general consumption, but a bottle had been opened that day so had to be drunk! A great experience with a warm and welcoming host. Really lucky and very kind of her to let us taste them. Couple of bottles were purchased, one special one for Matt and Annalisa to be cellared for a few years. It wasn’t until we left that we noticed the sign with their opening hours. 9am-4.30pm! Full list of wineries – http://www.barossa.com/wine/list.aspx
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