Linear as bent

Vintner mania

August 10, 2009 at 5:02 pm Leave a comment

This is winter in the vineyards. The ground is green but the vines are bare. Short T-trunks pruned to spurs in wired rows, waiting for summer. Gnarled and ugly, these are the treasures of vinification.

We’re in a few of the prolific wine making regions around Adelaide in South Australia. We travelled to McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills and the Barossa. The panoramic profile of each region is clearly different, but it takes lots of tastings to understand how the terroir determines the grapes and the winemaker’s skills in each season’s batch. Even the influence of consumer fashions affect the output. Suffice to say, we were lucky, and impressed, by our sips through SA wine country.

Adelaide city itself was a surprise for us. Coming from busy Sydney, Adelaide is a contrast – with beautifully planned open areas, low traffic and convenient public facilities, it was a breeze to take in. Food was great and the attending services high. If  they could fix their weird tasting water and allow longer shop opening times, they’d have everything.

It’s a good trip when we get to taste some of the best produce of the region, see whales and get some unusual shopping done. We’re gonna need more space for the wine bottles.

<–We couldn’t afford these but we found a surprisingly good cellardoor-only white at Penfolds.  They celebrated 165 years the day we visited so we got to taste some special bottles.

Also in the Barossa, at Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop. we went a little crazy with photographing and tasting everything they had. Super yummy and the highlight of the trip. If you get the chance, try her products; burnt fig ice-cream, vino cotto, raspberry and pomegranate jam, and her signature verjuice. They are all fantastic.

When in a new place, we try not to eat usual dishes that we do in Sydney. We did just that in Adelaide, taking seats at places serving Argentinian, French and Italian cuisines, local cheeses, amazingly smooth fudge and heavily-roasted coffee that Adelaidians seem to favour. Their famous Central Market is worth a visit for the cheeses and meats. Sadly, they don’t trade on Sunday – something we can’t understand. Nor the free parking for cars in the city on Saturday nights. But then this city also provides free and environmentally friendly public transport, it is surrounded by parklands, there’s low population and wide streets, heaps of sporting activities sponsored by local councils, and no tolls on highways. There’s much to like about Adelaide.

And so, our holiday gastronomie.

Entry filed under: Food. Tags: Adelaide, Food, wines.