8 Our day starts off gently; cellar doors do not open until 10:00am, so we have a leisurely breakfast and conduct all of our internet business before heading out. We love the fact that we have good and reliable internet coverage for 99.9% of Australia, we have a cellular wireless device that we can run both of our computers off of. The toughest part of being away from home has been the lack of contact that we can have when we are in the Island Countries. Anyway, off we go. We have asked for advise on what some of the local people's favorite winerys are and Tanunda is the home of Jacob's Creek and Penfolds (both common in Canadian stores). The area of the Barossa Valley includes about 6 towns and several smaller hamlets, with no more than 6 km from one to the next. This makes easy traveling through wonderful lush vineyards on quiet paved roads. Whistler Estates is the consumer's choice so we head there first. I don't know if it is the fact that we have nothing else to compare to yet or if our "palates" are un-tainted by other tastes yet, but the wines presented to us for tasting were Fantastic. Another case gets shipped to Mystery Ships stores. The Sauvignon Blanc's are crystal clear and refreshing, the Cab Sav's are clean and bold and the Shiraz is spicy and fragrant. Does this not make you want to go out and grab a glass? Plus, they have a kangaroo petting zoo right out their front door. What more can a person ask? Roos are pretty cool little animals and we obligingly petted them and took many pictures. Now we have to see them in the wild. We have now been directed to Artisan Wines (because her daughter runs it) and we travel across two townships to get there - remember very close. From here we travel to Angaston (on the daughter's recommendation) for lunch via the Mengler Hill Lookout road. Beautiful views of the surrounding valleys. Penfolds in Nuriootpa is next. Although it is a very large cellar door, we are a lot disappointed in their tasting experience and the wines presented. Sometimes it is the people behind the counter that make the experience. By now we have just about had enough wine to last a life time (maybe not, maybe only until tomorrow) but I want to go the Seppeltsfield cellar door because it is listed as the oldest wine maker in the area and they have tours of their facility and fortified wines from each year since they began producing - 1858. Fortified wine is similar to port only it is aged in the barrel. Great tour, great guy, Nigel, behind the counter and we were privileged to taste 100 year old Fortified wine - Absolutely Delicious! We round our day by having dinner at Appellations a restaurant with a fixed menu, matched with appropriate wine tastings. Superb!
9 Gotta cover some ground today. We're headed for Port Lincoln a mere 8 hour drive from Tanunda. We pass through the balance of the wine growing country and into grain lands - all harvesting is long completed - and along the coast again which is blown sand dunes and scrubby bush. What a day of contrasts. Port Lincoln is on the Eyre Peninsula and is a major shipping port for South Australia. The whole area is noted for their tuna fish harvest (they farm tuna here too) and their oyster production. The peninsula is also reported to produce 30% of Australia's grain crops. Viterra grain terminals are everywhere. Can't wait for fresh oysters for lunch tomorrow!
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