Borassa Valley Wine Tour

So it's the hottest day of the summer(so far) at 43 degrees, the perfect day to do a wine tour of the Barassa Valley! The coach drive is very nice(complete with AC and a front seat view) up the senic route along little Para Road. Along the way we pass several bike enthusiasts on their way down the hills. The Tour Down Under(similar to the Tour d'France) will be starting in a couple of weeks and teams of bikers are training all over Adelaide and the surrounding area. Many of them are riding on bikes that cost more than my car. They also wear real pretty outfits. Our first stop of the day is at a family winery in Lyndoch called the Kies Winery. We start off with cake and tea. The owner is a tea lover and has special blends-I try one called "Billy Tea" and true to it's name it tastes like ashes and burned branches. I needed to clense my palate after that with some nice white and red wines. Lovely. The next stop was just outside of the town of Tununda at the Langmiel Winery. This very historic area was settled in the 1840's and there are some very old Shiraz vines that date back 167 years. They are still producing grapes but at a much lower yield. It was here that I tried a red bubbly-made in the champagne style but with red wine.(Sparkling Shiraz Cuvee) The tour guide assured us that this fun wine was a breakfast wine meant to serve with bacon and eggs. It was nicely chilled and did go down rather well. Our next stop was for lunch at the Kaesler Vineyards. Here I had the opportunity to try some very well prepared kangaroo. It was a bit gamey but absolutely fabulous! Now I guess I can buy some at the grocery store to prepare myself-anyone want to come for dinner? The last stop of the day was at Wolf Blass. I imediately thought of my Bunkos Buddy Sue Thompson-this would be her favourite winery as Wolf Blass is one of her favourite wines. This winery was very commercial compared to the family run establishments, producing millions of litres of wine. I tasted and bought some Green Label White 2008 and some Green Label Cabernet Shiraz 2008 in the new shatterproof plastic bottles. I also had the chance to purchase and try a glass of the Black Label Shiraz and the Premium Label Shiraz as well. If I remember correctly(this was the last stop of several wine tastings) The Black Label retailed for $160/bottle and the Premium was either $200 or $500. No matter, I prefered the Black label. The more expensive wine was too "chunky" for my taste buds.It was an amazing day trip. The conclusion I have come to is that all the wine in Australia is wonderful. I would like to do the Clare Valley wine region next. My next quest however, is to taste and try as many varieties of Tim Tams as possible to determine my favourite. I will keep you posted on that.....til next time,
G'day eh!
Bern

PS sorry about the pictures-I am doing well to get them on let alone right side up!
PPS Hey Sue see me sharing the expensive wine with Wolf Blass?Come on over and I will share some with you too!