It was time to move on from McLaren Vale and head for the Barossa where many exciting adventures awaited. We decided to take the long way around via Hugo Wines in McLaren Vale - a spur of the moment decision and made only because Liz Hugo had been into my work to host a tasting before we left on the trip. Remembering I liked them I wanted to take Steph in for a tasting; they do a few wines but are best known for their Shiraz and their Cabernet which are both sensational value and good examples of the region for about $25.

We also wanted to revisit Langhorne Creek to see Marty one of the Viticultralists at Bleasdale, a friend of Steph’s cousin Mark. Marty took us for a wonder through the winery where we saw the original red gum press which was even used last year for a

Sunday
Our last day in Adelaide was to be an unexpected one beginning with watching Mark’s son Brayden in his game of soccer. These boys had skills and a 4-1 win was enjoyed, a crushing win! Leaving Mark and the family we headed for McLaren Vale, only 40 mins from Adelaide. We had no real expectations of McLaren Vale as a wine region other than some nice reds and had only planned for a couple of days. But as we drove in all we could see were signs on the

After a gentle morning blogging we headed to Penfolds Magill who has one of its cellar doors right in the heart of Adelaide.

As most people are aware Penfolds have a huge range of wines and personally I find the Bin numbers somewhat confusing. But those in the know (aka Matthew) seemed able to request a tasting of the best Bin ranges without too much effort at all.

We didn’t taste everything, rather chose wines that were slightly unusual, cellar door only releases or one we don’t see as frequently (or buy as frequently) in the bottle shops..

Fist was the Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling, a cellar door only wine. Penfolds make most varietals well and this Riesling was no exception. We moved our way

Only about 20 mins or so from Adelaide and we had arrived at Bird in Hand, a distinct label that takes its name from an old gold mine that was close by. They have three different ranges of wine all with names of shafts from the old mine.  Two in the Bush – their entry level range containing Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay,

When in Adelaide the one thing people suggest you do is visit Central Market on a Saturday, so y’know what they say….

We headed there for a delicious brekkie and then wandered around town for a while, checking out the Adelaide Arts and Festival Centre and surrounds before heading to a pub for a St Patrick’s Day beer.

I (Steph) was booked in to see a theatre show in the afternoon while Matthew stayed at the pub. We reconvened later and headed to the fringe garden via Universal Bar on Rundle Street. Here we tried an excellent Primitivo by Pertaringa, a Riesling and an Italian Pinot Grigio. Yum!

In the garden later that night we were again very grateful to have got in to see a few shows: East End Cabaret and Chopper’s F**king Late Show.

Sunday

We got up

The tasting was a great introduction to the Langhorne Creek region especially the reds, though the whites are good too. There are plenty of wines to try here which

We were ready for our first full day in Adelaide and seeing as though Adelaide Hills is only a little over 30mins away from the centre of town it was the obvious first choice in exploring the region. Having plenty of time in Adelaide we didn’t feel the pressure to have a plan and having someone ‘in the know’ (aka Nicole) tell us a few places to visit we headed

Pulling into the driveway the first thing we noticed was the emu walking around; this was unusual to say the least and just a little scary. When he followed the car and decided to hang out in front of us for a while we were both looking at each other wondering if he was going to chase us down if we tried to get to the cellar door. At that moment Patrick appeared who is the Brand Manager and also looks after the tastings.

It turns out Eddie (the emu) was rescued and is now looked

We woke early in order to fit in as much as possible. We had been tweeting earlier in the week about visiting the region and Karen from Zema Estate (aka CoonawarraK) had suggested we pop into to Zema for a tasting. Already on our list of vineyards to visit we headed there first thing.

Meeting Karen was a delight and she talked us through the family history of the vineyard (a very quaint love story of two immigrants from Calbria), the winery’s establishment, where the vine cuttings had come from and special events they host. throughout the year. One such event is where Mrs Zema, Francessca makes her renowned wood-fired pizzas at the regions