How did a novice take to Australian wines?!

Last November Prashant and I celebrated our seventh marriage anniversary in Tasmania. We had booked our air tickets months in advance but as the day approached we were quite clueless about our plans in the alluring island state. We are not the adrenaline junkie types but we do like to be adventurous and explore cities at our own pace. So after much deliberations we settled for a road trip from Launceston to Hobart and back, and an exorbitant wine tour in the picturesque Tamar Valley. It was to be our first such experience but we genuinely didn't know what to expect and whether it would be worth our dollars. 

  Goaty Hills vineyard in Tamar Valley 

On the D-day, a white hatchback from 'Valleybrook Wine on Wheels' came at our Launceston 'home' to pick us up, dot on time. It was then that I realised that it was to be an exclusive tour - no bawling babies, no grumpy tourists and no teenage banter. It ended up being quite romantic after all [bonus points to the hubby ;-)]

 

Our friendly tour guide took us around five big and small wineries in the Tamar Valley which is known for its organic cool climate wines. Most of the vineyards we visited belonged to small, boutique winemakers each with an interesting tale of how their journey began.  From the usual Sauv Blanc and Chardonnay to the less popular Gewürztraminer they had it all. We thirstily loaded ourselves with seven bottles of our favourite tipple that was shipped over to us in Sydney, undamaged. 

We returned on a high, literally. 

 

This little one at Tamar Valley's Holm Oak vineyard stole my heart! Our dapper tour guide is in the background

 

Our modest wine collection, all thanks to Tamar Valley

Two months later, while my parents - both non drinkers - were in Australia we thought of introducing them to wines. We booked a couple of nights in Hunter Valley, one of Australia's major wine regions known for its Semillon and Shiraz. This time we headed straight to the visitor centre where we shortlisted a few places including a dairy and a chocolate factory. It was quite a fun experience and an eye opener for mum, in particular as she can now tell wine from whisky and beer! As for dad, he is always in his happy zone. 

 

Dad at wine appreciation session at Polkobin

Another two months on and we find ourselves in Adelaide. Barossa Valley, famous for its Shiraz grapes, and only a couple of hours drive from the South Australian capital city was very much on our agenda. Unfortunately it didn't live up to our expectations, possibly because we are not in to Shiraz yet but also because Barossa had totally dried itself out. It was brown and dusty all around with some patches of greens here and there. 

Dry and dusty 

 

We went to two biggish wineries that weren't very personable, one of them Jacob's Creek. They appeared quite touristy with the folks across the counter not interested in what you like but in merely selling their limited "for tasting" table wine collection. To add to our list of complaints, they would only ship bottles that we bought from them. Winemakers at both Tamar and Hunter are happy to ship bottles for you from their rivals too as long as you buy at least one from them. So Barossa really discouraged us from splurging because we didn't want to put all our eggs in one basket... 

In hindsight, I am glad we returned from Barossa almost empty handed. The very next day, we headed to Adelaide Hills - renowned for its cool climate white wines and in particular the Gruner Vertliner. Our experience at Adelaide Hills came closest to that in Tasmania's Tamar Valley and more than made up for our disappointment at Barossa just the previous day. Back home, we now await our treasured half dozen tipple from Gruner Vertliner - apparently the most under-rated wine - to an oaky Chardonnay and a fruity Fiano... Slurp!

 

  

  Bird in Hand winery