Wine Tasting....Locals style!

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I got up on Wednesday with a ton of excitment. Today is the big wine tasting day! I was being picked up by Geoff, he's a friend of a friend or as they say here a mate of a mate - Thanks again for the intro Matt!

I was waiting on the corner of Wakefield and Pultenay at 9:45 am thinking how hilarious this looked. It was a gloomy day in Adelaide. Very rainy, cold, I was freezing and hoping that the day would warm up. Geoff had given me his car type and plate number for when I saw it pull up I made a quick dash for the car. I had spoken to Geoff the night before and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Turns out, he was super cool. We started off the day by stopping for a coffee, that's what he got, and I got a my standard morning tea. Then we were off for the wine.

There are a few ares of wine country around Adelaide. The famous one is Barossa. Geoff asked me where I wanted to go. I know well enough to let the local dictate the activity and told him to lead the way. So we went to the McLaren Vale. This area is closer to the city, set in the hills between the ocean and the "mountains" and a cooler climate. This is also the area within the wine community that Geoff has worked in. I also know well enough to know this is going to be a really good day!

We had about a 45 min drive before we got into the wine area. Geoff was great for conversation and I heard all about his family, his business, more about Oz as a whole. I told him about my upcoming trip to Kanagroo Island and how I had just completed the Great Ocean Road. Overall it was just really easy and nice conversation. The first winery we stopped at was called Woodstock. Now, in the car, we talked a lot about wine. Geoff has spent most of his career in wine and knows so much about it. He asked what I liked and didn't like and my favorite, Pinot Noir, was not grown in this area. And one of my least favorites, Shiraz, is the reknowed grape in this area. I think this made him a bit nervous but I said, I have have always found the wines better when you drink them where they are grown and I have a very open mind. The area is also know for their chardonnays. Geoff and I both agreed after all day of drinking that a chardonnay is still a chardonnay and if you don't like, you'll never like it. LOL Geoff kept trying to stop at different lookout spots so that I could see the area. It was so grey and cloudy that ou couldn't see anything. He kept saying, so if it was clear you'd see...I could tell that on a clear day, it would be absolutely beautiful. The area was unique in that it wasn't fields of just vines. You'd see a vineyard and then next to it might be a farm with some firelds and cows and sheep and then you'd see another vineyard, ect. There were even some forest type areas mixed in. It made for a great landscape.

So, Woodstock. Geoff used to work at this winery but when we walked into the tasting room the girl working there didn't know him. So, we played along and Geoff asked a whole bunch of questions. I love to ask questions about wine, especially when I'm trying new kinds and this girl was not the most helpful. I immediately realized though that I'm really going to enjoy the tasting today because Geoff is so knowledgeable that I'm going to learn more than I ever have before. We tasted 6 or 7 different wines. The funny thing was, Geoff kept spitting out his wine. We started joking that he should have hired someone to drive us around for the day so that he could have drank them. Hilarious! I really liked 4 of the wines we tried here including one of the Shiraz.

The next stop was Coriole. This place was just really cool in terms of set up and beauty. Again, on a clear day, i would have really loved this place. They had a big green space with some room for outdoor dining and restrooms that were almost artistic and added to the feel of the winery. The tasting room was this old stone cottage like room and not very big. It had a long bar at one end that had a metal front to it with the winery name/logo. This gave you a great feel for the old of the winery mixed with the modern-ness of it. They also used full size glasses for the tasting which I really liked. They seemed to have a first class approach to the whole experience. And my event planner mind was all abound with ideas on what you could do at this place. Some things you can't turn off. When we walked in, Geoff knew 2 of the 3 guys standing in the tasting room. The one guy was the owner, and he was very nice but quickly left after his polite hello and where are you from. Then I met the manager, another really nice guy and then we both met Tim, the tasting manager. He was my favorite person of the day in terms of talking wine. He had so much passion and information and the way he approached it was great. The tasting room actually filled up with quite a few people while we were there and yet he still took time to talk to us and even drink a bit and he never spoke down to anyone that came in. I would say that he is a person that is perfect for his job. We tasted at least 10 wines here. And I joked with Geoff that he peaked too soon...meaning, he took me to the best spot second in the day and now the rest might not hold up. He found this to be pretty funny. I have a new favorite wine - Fiona that was just incredible and a new favorite red - Shiraz Mouvedre blend. By now, Geoff was getting a handle on my taste preference and was pretty good and predicting which ones I'd like and not like. I found it funny. The one thing we did not do here was drink the ports. I was happy with this decision because I had a pretty healthy buzz. The tastings here are more generous that what I've seen in the US. Perhaps thats because I was with Geoff or perhaps that's just how it is here, but either way, I was not spitting out any of the wines and I was feeling no pain at this point. The other fun conversation was cork vs screw cap. As it turns out, the screw cap is actually better for the wine. I even tasted one of their really expensive bottles of wine and was able to compare it - hands down, the wine with the screw cap retained its flavor so much better! So, note to all of you out there not wanting to buy the screw cap...you're crazy!

After we finished tasting here I was given the choice, go to another winery or head to lunch. Considering my buzz, I said lunch. We went to the Victory. Its an upscale pub but still has great prices on things. Again, Geoff knows the owner, who we meet and then I start off with a hot tea. I'm still cold :-) We ordered the fish and chips, with the fish grilld and got two different kinds of fish that are both the native fish around Oz. The food was outstanding! We sat at the bar and talked sports for the most part. He's running a pool with several of his friends, I think its for the footy, but I really can't remember (god, that's awful) and I talked about college football and missing out on gambling this yr for the NCAA tourney. There were locals in the bar playing pool and having a few pints on their lunch break. I ended up getting a Cooper's Pale Ale for my lunch drink and it was really good. The pale ales here are different than the ones in the US. I like these much better. At one point, the clouds parted and we actually had a view of the ocean adn some of the hills. What a view it was! This is one area of Oz where I think I could live. I liked the community and the pace and the friendliness...and the city was not too far away...good stuff! When we finishd up lunch, Geoff took me into the basement and showed me the wine cellar and private dining room. Now, this space is cool! You could have a dinner party for maybe 30 and the atmosphere is incredible. Private room with bottles of wine on both sides. Interesting mix of furniture and flooring and lighting. Well done.

The next stop on our tour was Samuel's. This place is so small of an operation that its not on the map or a part of the normal tour type stop. This is a quirky little place with the quirkiest owner ever and was a fantastic stop! The owner is Justin and Geoff says he looks like Side Show Bob from the Simpsons. I laughed but didn't really think he would. Holy crap, he totally did! As you walk in to the winery, you can see all the wine processing equipment. You can see the vates (sp?) where he stomps on the grapes and his barrels and presses and whatnot. It was really cool. The place also sits up on a hillside so you look down on the valley which again, had it been clear, would have provided for fantastic views! But even on our day, it was pictureques. The tasting room was a small stone cottage that was part tasting bar, part espresso bar, part winery office and part museum with old wine machines, photos of the area and a bit of history. It was cool. There were also two huge dogs, which was fun. They only had 4 wines to taste, but they were good. My favorite was the Grenache. The girl doing the tasting was very helpful and informative and after we stood around for a bit, Justin came over to get some wine. He was talking about how he's been up all night picking the grapes in hopes of saving the grapes due to all the rain. His stories were hilarious and he's fairly certain that he will not have a 2011 Grenoche vintage due to all the issues so today he's going to drink. Then his buddy came in and the conversation got even funnier. He asked me where I was from and then we talked about the US a bit. The conversation of stubby holder came up and after them laughing about it I ended up with my very own Samuels' studdy holder. Sweet! Justin also asked if I'd like to revisit any of the wines and I said I'd love another taste of the Grenoche. Well, his pour was very generous and before I knew it, I had a whole glass. Great wine and great conversation, this was fun! Like I said, unlike any other wine tasting I've done.

When we left here I had to admit to Geoff that I was quite buzzed. He laughed and said that he knew if we stood there long enough Justin would come over and it'd get really interesting...I told him it was great! The next and final stop was Paxton. This winery was a larger place and the tasting room was really big. The buildings were all white and the tasting room had all sorts of space with photos and things on the wall. Ben was working the counter and knew Geoff as soon as he walked in. I took a look at the menu and they had 10 wines. I knew I had to pace myself. Ben was fun to talk to, asked where we'd been and what I'd liked thus far. I tasted some seriously fantastic wines here and much like Coriole, I liked most of them. I like talking wines with Ben and he was much like Tim, very informative and kind and allowed for some questions. There was also talk of other things, my trip, the US, Geoff and him talked business and other things. Good stuff overall and really enjoyable. As it turns out, Ben is one of the owners of the winery. You'd never know...he was so laid back and didn't seem to have a vested interest. He was really nice even when I said I didn't like one and even nicer when I asked for seconds on a couple. I like wine tasting in McLaren Vale.

We left and as it turns out, we (Geoff) was running late. Something about one of the kids and swimming lessons. So, instead of dropping me back in the city, he took me about 1/2 way there and dropped me at the tram station in Glenelg. Its a cool little beach town and I had wanted to actually do some walking around in it. However, at this point, I was far too pissed to do anything but stumble over to the tram and get on without getting hit by one. Ha! I thanked Geoff for such a wonderful day and told him to let me know if he ever came to FL that I'd show him around. I don't know what the hell I'd show him, but I'd do my best. He gave me one parting gift, a bottle of his own wine label, a sauvigon blanc and I was off. The tram ride was really nice. I got to see a bit more of the sleepy beach town of Glenelg and then some of the suburbs of Adelaide. The tram pulled into downtown around 7 pm and I walked the 4 blocks back to the hostel. I got back just in time for the Wed night free bbq which was chicken, sausage and potatoes. I was so happy!!! I was then in bed by 9 pm. Today was a wine tasting like no other and I had some of the best wines I've ever had. I will also look back on this and want to return to the McLaren Vale for a little more of some of the good stuff!

(sorry, no photos were taken while I was drinking...some things you don't need photos of)

The next stop on the wine tour

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Comments

[Dr Eddie Chung Gon]

You have enjoyed my McLaren Vale areas wineries !
Courtney Lohmann I enjoyed your USA visitor take on what we casually take for granted in South Oz ... where 50% of Aussie wine is produced ! Yes over the years .. far too many .. I have enjoyed what has now become my obsession ... .. the tasting & collecting of Aussie & world wines .. I have yet to read of your other blogs due to the time constraints of our 21st C life ... grrr ! I have regularly travelled the world the past 20 years. I have only by accident found this site and I now intend to become a beginner blogger! Are you willing to cast off to me some of your tips ? Eddie Chung Gon [e-mail]