McLaren Vale is known for its Australian wine. Strangely it’s not very far from the suburban streets of Adelaide, although these do seem to go on for miles, with car showrooms, supermarkets and shops closing in on either side. Then suddenly, as a hill is climbed, there are vineyards by the acre. Relieved at shaking off the town, we stopped at Hardys cellar door to check out their history and to imbibe a sample or two of their mid-range offerings. Fortunately we were the only visitors and there was plenty of time for a chat and a taster, and another chat and another taster, etc.
I was quite happy checking out samples of the various quality wines. Kim was delighted with their garden and found some very fragrant roses in addition to their very fragrant sparkling Shiraz.
Kim has prepared a lot of meals on our little two burner and grill cooker and as it was a particularly cold night, for a change we adjourned to a restaurant where we tucked in to a most pleasant meal and a bottle of the local pinot grigio.
Vin Rouge has clocked up nearly 10,000 kilometres since leaving Brisbane, much of it climbing and descending hills and mountains, and being heavily loaded decided it was time to complain - again. Some disturbing grinding noises emanated from under the bonnet and so we were obliged to return to the suburbs of Adelaide to Triumph Rover Spares. Arriving about ten in the morning, right in the middle of their morning coffee break (sorry guys), our Land Rover was whisked away and the faults diagnosed. A free loan car materialised and we were able to spend a few hours in the seaside town of Glenelg whilst all was sorted out. Vin Rouge now sports a shiny new water pump, alternator and a rather large aluminium casting on the front of the engine. In addition, both rear axle seals were replaced. Hopefully all will now be well. I know this is might be considered a plug, but we cannot speak highly enough of the friendly and extremely helpful people at Triumph Rover Spares. Maybe it’s one of those Land Rover things, but we came away feeling that we’d been treated like royalty. Thanks, we really appreciate it.
Now a pleasant seaside town, it was in Glenelg that Governor Hindmarsh announced the establishment of the Victorian government in December 1836. We spent a fascinating couple of hours in the Discovery Centre where history was presented in novel and interactive ways, including some of the old ‘end of the pier’ slot machines.
Next morning, at Kim’s insistence, we visited the Haigh’s chocolate factory where chocolates are mainly made by hand. Now I’m not a lover of chocolate but must say that the bitter dark variety was really good. I even ate two pieces!
Passing by hundreds of vineyards, mostly with names that were unknown to either of us, we came to the town of Hahndorf which was settled by German Lutherans and is the oldest settlement of its type in Australia. Unfortunately it’s become very much a tourist spot complete with ‘German’ curry and fish and chips. The obligatory bratwurst butcher, a shop selling quasi-German puppets and another making genuine ‘German’ candles made the whole place rather nauseating – at least as far as I was concerned. So we pushed on, first to the Beerenburg jam factory (lovely aromas) and then to see the world’s largest rocking horse – complete with lightning conductors.
Overnight we camped at the very small Williamstown camp site. It was cold with a nasty wind chill and so we took refuge in the camp kitchen which thankfully was fully enclosed. Next morning we experienced a veritable queue of people asking about our ‘rig’ (this happens all the time) and by the time we’d answered all their questions it was quite late when we left to check out the delights of the Barossa Valley.
South Australia, unlike Queensland which has only hot and very hot, has all four seasons and we delighted in the autumn colours of the trees and fields.
Now the Barossa is famous worldwide for its red wines and so Vin Rouge was quite at home. Strangely, our first stop was to the ‘Whispering Wall’, the Barossa Reservoir dam. Completed in 1902, it was one of the earliest dams in Australia. It has surprising acoustics. Anyone talking at one end of the wall can be heard clearly at the other. We wondered if the workers comments about their bosses were unintentionally overheard at the time of building.
After all that talking it was time to visit some of the wine producers at their as various Chateaux. We were amused to see the French term used, even though many of the producers have a German heritage. Like quite a few others, Chateau Tanunda dates back to the early 1800s. Its buildings have that Victorian elegance and the grounds have matured into magnificent gardens complete with a croquet lawn.
Next day, with perseverance, we managed to visit the Wolf Blass, Penfolds and Seppelt wineries, fit in a side trip to Angaston Dried Fruit and still have time for a spot of lunch at Maggie Beer’s Farm. It’s hard work enjoying yourself!
Certainly a highlight was the Penfolds visit. We do like their wines and although the top-of-the-range ‘Grange’ bottles are a long way out of our league we were able to try some of their mid range Shiraz and drool over the displays.
An Australian secret is something that used to be called Seppelt Para Liqueur Port. Nowadays of course, the term ‘port’ can’t be used and so it’s called ‘tawny’. We were introduced to Para many years ago and would bring back a bottle from any trip down under. Since moving here we’ve not been able to find the familiar club-shaped bottle and enquiries led nowhere. Today though, we heard the full story and now know how to find it. Para is not in old the club-shaped bottle any more and a new name has been assigned. But we did manage to acquire one of the last of the old bottles which will be kept under lock and key for a while yet. That’s all we’re saying, apart from the sad news that it’s not available in the UK. For a sample, you’ll just have to pay us a visit.
During the 1930s depression, the town of Seppeltsfield kept its people in employment planting date palms. The town now has avenues of these and very pleasing they are to the eye. How’s this for the road leading out of town? We’re still not sure what they do with all the dates though.
This seems to be a good place to stop rambling. A glass of Shiraz in one hand, the bottle nearby to top up on demand. Cheers all.
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