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Published: July 11th 2006
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After yesterday's tour where I was half the age of most of the other customers, today's wine-tasting tour to the Barossa Valley attempted to redress the balance with me being twice the age of most of the others. The tour company's name - Groovy Grape - was possibly an indication of its less-than-formal style. There were eight women on the bus and two guys including myself, with only two of the participants not being English. The potential for drunkenness was almost palpable.
First stop of the day was at the Big Rocking Horse, one of a number of "Big" items (e.g. Big Lobster, Big Banana, etc) dotted across Australia that are outsized versions of the the objects that they're named after. You could climb the rocking horse, with the promise of a certificate on completion, but I restrained myself.
Next came the Whispering Wall, the curved wall of a reservoir with the acoustic property that you can whisper something at one end and it can clearly be heard 160m away. The guide demonstrated this by sending half the group to each end of the wall then telling some unrepeatable jokes for the delectation of the group at the other
end.
After these diversions we got to the real purpose of the tour, with the famous Jacob's Creek vineyard opening our wine-tasting account. With this year's vintage just over, the vine leaves were all taking on autumnal colours.
The tasting itself was a less pretentious process than I was expecting. We lined up beside a bar then were told how to fully appreciate a glass of wine (in short - admire its colour, swirl it around and smell it, then take a big sip and let it run all through your mouth, to touch all your different taste buds as well as your teeth). Then came a sparkling wine (generally used to cleanse the palate), two whites, two reds, and a tawny port.
Though the Barossa Valley is best known for its Shiraz, I was more taken by the Rieslings, which are often dry here rather than the sweet ones you tend to get in Europe.
Next up was Vinecrest, the most garlanded boutique winery in the valley (among umpteen other awards, they won the 2005 "Merlot of the Year in Australia and New Zealand"). This time we had two whites, two reds, and two fortifieds.
Third was Richmond Grove, where a small tour of the winery preceded another six tastings. By this point, certain people were beginning to show some signs of wear, so fortunately a barbecue lunch hove into view to limit the damage. Some chunks of kangaroo meat were the most unusual item on the menu, and tasted pretty good. There was a remarkable amount of squeamishness demonstrated by some members of the party at the thought of eating Skippy.
After lunch, we soldiered on bravely to Bethany, our final winery for the day. There was no structured tasting, rather a general free-for-all in which you chose what you wanted from a list. With no pressing need to get totally plastered, I limited myself to four wines.
The journey back to Adelaide was a study in the effects of daytime drinking. Heads lolled with mouths open. Snoring could be heard. Speech was in muted tones only.
For me, the evening was quiet and ultimately short, with an early bed proving too tempting an option. I will be perfectly honest and admit that today left me still no closer to being able to distinguish a decent wine from a rubbish
one.
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Cemore Jiust
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Rotten Socks
Its not until you tasted a bad one that makes you realized what the good one taste like.