Weekend in Adelaide Part Deux

This time I went with my sis and we did some wine tasting. Weather wise, it was pretty wintery - watery wintery, I mean, à la San Francisco.

But, it was still beautiful and more, the wine was mostly divine.

Sydney at night, aerial view:




Day One Barossa Valley:

Two Hands - solid, lots of Shiraz
Torbreck - meh. it got crowded too which didn't help.
Laughing Jack - named after the Kookaburra bird and its laugh. A small family own/run winery which was fantastic for the experience of tasting wine with the winemaker, trying some of their just-put-in-the-barrels-2010 wintage. Definitely a winner.
Langmeil - solid. Oldest vines in the valley here!
The Willows - meh

Then we went to see some wild kangaroos and to Mengler's Hill for the lookout!




One the way back to Adelaide:



Just of note - we went to a nice restaurant that night called Assaggio. The interesting part was finding out that apparently in Adelaide, you need a special "Take Away" license in order for guests to take their leftovers home. So, when in Adelaide and going to dinner, definitely go hungry or be prepared to lose your meal and pay good $$ for it.


Day Two McLaren Vale:

Gemtree - meh. not worth going back.
Spring Hills - again with the winemaker which was fun. Good value for wine. Mourvedre very nice
Samuels Gorge - unexpectedly nice. would go back.
Alpha Box and Dice - see my previous blog. But I will say - the winemaker Justin Lane has an awesome memory - remembered my co-worker and thus me. Great fun that day watching their kids and other kids having fun and trying to bring a lion piñata down!
Olive Grove - for their fantastic olive products - yummmmmmmmm
Olivers' Taranga - lovely wines
De Lisio - one of our absolutely favorite wineries/experiences this trip. Kristina sat down with us and was absolutely fantastic to speak with - too bad we only had 1.5 hours to chat with her! Definitely will be looking for this wine in the US - especially the Catalyst.