Wine Tasting in the Barossa Valley ....hic!

Well this one was a far later start... 9.30, which was really nice to get a lie in and pancakes for breakfast.  Then we were off.

Drove past tons of vineyards before we even got to the Barossa valley, and also tons of reservoirs... water conservation is massively important here - very important to everyone.  Most people conserve and filter their own rainwater from their roofs out in the ‘burbs and use grey water to irrigate etc.  There are signs up everywhere all the time, however this year everything is very green and the reservoirs are very full as there has been an inordinate amount of rainfall this year, and don’t I know it.  It’s hardly stopped.  It makes the locals happy though.

We saw kangaroo creek reservoir, (pictured) which was HUGE, saw the gorgeously named Cuddly Creek, which is populated by tons of the cutest creatures on earth, albino wallabies.. They are about 18” high and white and fluffy... saw one with a Joey poking out of her pouch but couldn’t get a pic in time L. So here's one I stole.

Then we visited a dam holding back anther reservoir which has a weird sound effect where you can stand at one end talk normally and be heard at the other end – it’s so weird... I couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a speaker and a microphone set up it was so loud.

Most of the reservoirs fed into each other so that if one gets too low they can top it up with another.  Most are rainwater fed but some are fed by rivers too.

 

And it’s still bloody cold so in this pic of me by the dam I am wearing literally every piece of clothing I can.  A vest, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a jumper, a fleece and a kaghoul, and a hat and a scarf. (The bus driver was wearing a short sleeved shirt and shorts).  It’s ridiculous.

Anyway, after driving past the hilariously and appropriately named “cockatoo valley”, which contains a caravan park with a strangely high iron wall round it... this was because it’s a nudist colony...so you should see a cockatoo there! (groan!)

Anyway. Vineyards Schminyards.....  WINE.  That’s what was there for and that’s what we got.  Loads actually.   And a superb cup of tea when we stopped for a morning break.  That is my first since I left home 3 months ago as I knew if I had one it would be ultimately disappointing. However they did good tea there.... It was really superb.  How very English to appreciate a cup of tea so much but it was wonderful. despite all the Aussies taking the mick out of me for being a Pommy.

So.  We crossed the actual Jacobs Creek.  "JC" is the biggest wine producer in the area at the moment  - they use young high yielding vines, well irrigated with rain water to produce the biggest fattest grapes and the largest crops.  Major mass production. However they are likely to be overtaken by Wolf Blass fairly soon.

Often grass is grown between the rows of vines as this can be hoed back into the ground to increase the nitrogen levels in the earth and also used as a mulch to keep the moisture in the ground when the weather warms up.

2^nd wine stop Langmeil wines, in Tanunda.(est 1843!)  This was definitely the best of the bunch!

These wines are of German origin - as there were a lot of German settlers in this area of the country apparently. However 60% of the people who you see around here are tourists come for the wine.

These big gnarly vines (left) in these vineyards are really historic; some are over 163 years old!  Though vines this old don’t produce vast quantity of fruit – basically you only get a bottle per vine per year, the quality is amazing as they have very deep roots and absorb more minerals from the soil... these bottles of “Freedom wine” sell for $100 each and are worldwide gold medal winning.

Younger plants produce a lot more fruit but the quality of the wine is less – they have less tannins and therefore have a shorter life and will go off quickly. These smaller vines pictured here are only 14 years old. (Mass produced wine doesn't have as long a shelf life, as grapes are like balloons, the skins stretches as the grape swells, and the tannins are in the skin.  so the bigger the grape the less, life elongating, complexity adding tannins there are and so the shelf life shortens and the wines must be drunk young).

Jacobs Creek produce something like 80 million litres of wine per year, using young plants, irrigating them well to swell the grapes, and using machinery to harvest which is more brutal so the vines have a shorter life.  It would take Langmiel 160 years to produce as much wine from their wines as Jacobs creek produce in a year.

Still look at the size of the barrel store at Langmeil (which smelt glorious by the way!!)

Barrels themselves add a lot to the quality of the wine and each barrel can only be used about 3 times.  They cost about 750 to 1300 Aus.dollars each..So it’s an expensive business!

After seeing the vineyards we did a bit more tasting.  This is the second biggest size of bottle of wine you can get......it was love at first sight..– it holds the equivalent of 36 normal bottles of wine!

By lunchtime (which was also superb - I had roast kangaroo) everyone was quite merry – the Italian, Bruno, was telling us here how much he loved his wife...she's the one he has in the headlock whist he tells her how much he loves her

Lastly we visited Wolf Blass winery and tried some more.... they are fast becoming the biggest wine producer in the area.  They actually bought the piece of road outside their winery from the council as the traffic was stopping them from getting their tankers out! so now the road detours around the Winery!  They also built their own turning lane out the back so that they could  get the tankers and the tourists in.

Anyway after an exhausting days smelling drinking and tasting we headed back....here I am just before I slept soundly on the bus all the way back.

My Wine recommendations: (just a small portion of the ones that I tasted, but my very favourites).

Langmeil 2006 Sparkling Oncenc Cuvee

tastes like granny smith apples! could drink it for breakfast!

Langmiel 2007 Shiraz Viognier Hangin' Snakes

Smells absolutley amazing and tastes soft enough to quaff without food... gorgeous.

Langmeil 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon "The Blacksmith"

Not so amazing on the nose but the taste... wow!  If you can get it, get it.

Langmeil 2006 Shiraz "Orphan Bank"

Absolutely my favourite... just yummy in every possible way but then, by this time I had had rather a lot of wine to taste. ...

Wolf Blass Green label Crisp dry white

(Eco friendly and in plastic recyclable bottle) really fab and refreshing

Wolf Blass Gold Label Coonawarra Late Harvest Riesling

I don't usually like sweet wine but this is absolutely delicious.

Wolf Blass Verae 2009 Limestone coast

This is a mixture of Shiraz and Reisling, lightly sparkling and just gorgeous - the sort of thing you should drink all Saturday out in the sun on a gorgeous summer day but would go equally well with Christmas dinner!  gorgeous. Unfortunately it's so new that it's only available n trial in Australia so hassle your local wine merchant t try and get some imported for Christmas at the very least - you will not regret it!

(I also got to  taste a bottle of the Langmeil  2007 Freedom Wine I mentioned before... but it was pointed out that really needs to be laid down for another couple of months before it's ready  - it was still fabulous!)