Clare Valley

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We loved this quaint little wine region in South Australia where some of the best wineries are located in Australia; Sevenhills, Skillogallee, Annie's Lane, Jeanneret, Kilikanoon, Taylors and Knappstein Wines. I must admit, Australia produces brilliant wines, wonderful food and downright friendly folk. This is a place I would definitely re-visit in the future. What a beautiful piece of Australia. Enjoy the pics

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Photos

Clare Valley
Stunning architecture in Clare Valley. This is the local library on the left hand side.

Annie's Lane
Quote "Annie Wayman was a legend in the Clare Valley. She could always be relied upon to bring along sandwiches and a warm drink to harvesters and pruners in the vineyard at the turn of the 20th century. One evening, Annie's horse and cart got bogged in a lane adjacent to one of the valley's best vineyards. Thus, Annie's Lane was born " Unquote

Sevenhills Cellars 1851
Step back in time with Brother John May, chief winemaker for Sevenhills for the last 45 years. At $7.50 p/p for a 1.5 hour tour, John imparts wonderful history and wine making techniques which has made this winery so unique in the Clare Valley.

Sevenhills Winery
This structure is called Madonna of the vines inspired by Our Lady of the Lakes in South America. Sculptured by Adelaide artist, Andrew Parish and presented to Brother John May to mark his 65th birthday and completion of 31 vintages at the winery.

Sevenhills Winery Brother John
This is a place of prayer and is also used as a station of the cross on Good Friday. Notice the cross on the gum tree.

Sevenhills Winery - Brother John
Brother John explaining how the grafting is done. Can you believe these vines are 140 years old??

Sevenhills Winery - St Aloysius Church
Completed in 1875, this church features mintaro slate floors, beautiful stained-glass windows and a painting of the Madonna presented to the Jesuits by king Ludwig of Bavaria in 1848.

Sevenhills Winery - Weikert House
Franz Weikart, a Silesian farmer, led a group of 130 Catholics from Austria to South Australia in 1848, so they could enjoy religious freedom. This dwelling was started in 1865 and completed in 1870 and was the original dairy and blacksmith. Mary McKillop was a guest here at one time and her two brothers attended school at the college. Check out the following link about Mary McKillop www.sevenhill.com.au/press_room_news.php

Sevenhills Winery - Clare Valley
Four Buckets is the latest wine release from Seven Hills. This original wine press was only able to press and produce four buckets of wine for fermenting, hence the creative new name; Four Buckets

Sevenhills Winery - Clare Valley
Museum

Sevenhills Winery Crypt
The first Jesuit to be buried in this crypt was Brother George Sadler. George was killed by a stone while blasting in the quarry obtaining stone to build the church. There are 41 Jesuits resting here in this crypt all of whom have died on the Seven Hills estate. The crypt is situated underneath the church.

Sevenhills Winery - The Marian Shrine
This shrine was the the original smokehouse for the Jesuit community and was located very close to the original dairy. It was later converted into a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Sevenhills Winery Underground Cellar
This is the oldest part of the winery where Sevenhill Cellars began. Pick and shovel were used to excavate this underground cellar (late 1850's) and is a perfect environment for slowly maturing fortified wines in German, French and Portuguese puncheons (500Ltrs)

Sevenhills Hotel
Met these great people at Sevenhills Hotel. Bev, James, Oliver and Kyme (alias Snake). James and Bev kindly gave us a bottle of, "The Ringmaster Clare Valley Shiraz" by Koonowla. Oliver recommended, "The Good Catholic Girl" (shiraz) which is produced by Jeanneret Wines. I just had to purchase a bottle of this vintage drop, seeing as I am Good Catholic Girl.....hmmm. Thanks guys, it was a lovely thought and we really appreciated your hospitality.

Skillogalee Winery Clare
Quote "In the early 1840's, the pioneer and explorer John Horrocks settled at Penworththam, named after his home town in England. From here, he explored further north in the Flinders ranges, using Afghan camels and looking for land suitable for settlement. On one such expedition, Horrocks' party was beset by illness, injuries and bad weather. Having run short of provisions, they survived only by making a "skillogalee" or "skilly" - a sort of thin porridge or gruel, probably from grass seeds and water. The word "skillogalee" comes from Celtic origins and the dish was commonly fed to prisoners in Ireland around this time. When Horrcocks finally made it back to Penwortham, he gave the creek nearby the name Skillogalee in memory of this event. The vineyard takes its name from the creek which runs through the eastern, lower end" Unquote.

Clare Valley - Spring Flowers
Irises at Sevenhills Winery

Clare Valley - Spring Flowers
Flowers at Skillogalee Winery

Clare Valley - Spring Flowers
Flowers at Skillogalee Winery