Eating our way across South Australia
Sep 21st, 2009, 01:33 AM
#1
Eating our way across South Australia
September 5-20, 2009
Gaining weight certainly wasn’t my intention when I planned this trip, but that’s what happened. Almost without exception, every morsel we ate, be it a simple bratwurst or a splash out meal, was well prepared and delicious.
We’re not foodies by any stretch, but there’s no denying that we like to eat. This journey inadvertently became about the food and the wine, so I suggest you not read this on an empty stomach.
I found planning this trip difficult, as there seemed so many interesting places to visit in South Australia. The posters here and on Trip Advisor were an invaluable resource and I thank those of you who patiently helped me sort things out. I took a lot of your suggestions to heart and you’ll no doubt recognize many of them here. As my spouse so eloquently put it, “You did good”.
As many regulars know, we’re American expatriates currently living in Perth. Our intent is to see as much of Australia as we can while we’re here, and we’ve been interested in South Australia for some time, so we set off to see our neighbors. All prices shown are in Australian dollars.
Our itinerary:
Barossa Valley – three nights
Clare Valley – two nights
Coober Pedy – two nights
Flinders Ranges – three nights
McLaren Vale – four nights
Adelaide – one night
Our transportation: Air
The best deal and most convenient scheduling I could find was through Jetstar, who operate a once daily direct flight from Perth to Adelaide. I have no issues with Jetstar at the airport or in the air, but I have beaucoup issues with their call center in Malaysia. Suffice to say, Jetstar works well as long as you don’t need to contact them by phone.
Our tickets were $204 each return, which included 20 kg of checked baggage each, up to 10 kg of cabin baggage each and a $12 charge to use a credit card to book the tickets online; strange, but true. We took our own snacks and our own headphones, and I scoured their fare rules so there’d be no unpleasant surprises.
Check in was fast and easy. Security screening was a breeze. Liquids were a non issue; those restrictions don’t apply on Australian domestic flights. No getting barked at by surly TSA employees, no having to remove our shoes and practically strip. It was refreshing; a tiny reminder of what traveling was like before all the drama.
Our flight left 60 minutes late due to the headwind which delayed the incoming flight, but we only arrived 15 minutes behind schedule for the same reason; a tail wind that shortened our flight to a mere two hours, eleven minutes.
The 1.5 hour time change between Perth and Adelaide threw us for a loop. First time we’ve run into a partial hour time change; it felt strange.
Our transportation: Car
I’d done the usual exhaustive research trying to find the best deal on a car rental, and ended up booking with both Europecar and Budget, planning to decide which to go with once we arrived. Europecar wanted $776.83 for a Group C Hyundai Accent sedan with unlimited miles, plus a fee for using a credit card and a charge for an additional driver. They have a $3,300 excess, and their policy against driving on unsealed roads seemed a bit unreasonable.
Budget wanted $776.89 for a Group B Toyota Yaris hatchback with unlimited miles, a $2,750 excess, no charge for using a credit card or for an additional driver, and they permit driving on formed gravel roads. I’d booked using a coupon code which offered a free upgrade to a Group C car, but as it was based upon availability, we wouldn’t know until we arrived if we’d get it. The upgrade was to be the deciding factor, as we didn’t want to spend two weeks in a tiny hatchback. We checked with Budget first, the upgrade was available, so we went with them. We told them where we’d be driving, and were notified of their policy against driving between dusk and dawn north of Port Augusta (except within town). No problem. We walked to the Europecar counter and asked them to cancel our booking. With some excellent directions from Monique at the Budget counter, we were on our way to the Barossa Valley in our Toyota Corolla sedan.
Gaining weight certainly wasn’t my intention when I planned this trip, but that’s what happened. Almost without exception, every morsel we ate, be it a simple bratwurst or a splash out meal, was well prepared and delicious.
We’re not foodies by any stretch, but there’s no denying that we like to eat. This journey inadvertently became about the food and the wine, so I suggest you not read this on an empty stomach.
I found planning this trip difficult, as there seemed so many interesting places to visit in South Australia. The posters here and on Trip Advisor were an invaluable resource and I thank those of you who patiently helped me sort things out. I took a lot of your suggestions to heart and you’ll no doubt recognize many of them here. As my spouse so eloquently put it, “You did good”.
As many regulars know, we’re American expatriates currently living in Perth. Our intent is to see as much of Australia as we can while we’re here, and we’ve been interested in South Australia for some time, so we set off to see our neighbors. All prices shown are in Australian dollars.
Our itinerary:
Barossa Valley – three nights
Clare Valley – two nights
Coober Pedy – two nights
Flinders Ranges – three nights
McLaren Vale – four nights
Adelaide – one night
Our transportation: Air
The best deal and most convenient scheduling I could find was through Jetstar, who operate a once daily direct flight from Perth to Adelaide. I have no issues with Jetstar at the airport or in the air, but I have beaucoup issues with their call center in Malaysia. Suffice to say, Jetstar works well as long as you don’t need to contact them by phone.
Our tickets were $204 each return, which included 20 kg of checked baggage each, up to 10 kg of cabin baggage each and a $12 charge to use a credit card to book the tickets online; strange, but true. We took our own snacks and our own headphones, and I scoured their fare rules so there’d be no unpleasant surprises.
Check in was fast and easy. Security screening was a breeze. Liquids were a non issue; those restrictions don’t apply on Australian domestic flights. No getting barked at by surly TSA employees, no having to remove our shoes and practically strip. It was refreshing; a tiny reminder of what traveling was like before all the drama.
Our flight left 60 minutes late due to the headwind which delayed the incoming flight, but we only arrived 15 minutes behind schedule for the same reason; a tail wind that shortened our flight to a mere two hours, eleven minutes.
The 1.5 hour time change between Perth and Adelaide threw us for a loop. First time we’ve run into a partial hour time change; it felt strange.
Our transportation: Car
I’d done the usual exhaustive research trying to find the best deal on a car rental, and ended up booking with both Europecar and Budget, planning to decide which to go with once we arrived. Europecar wanted $776.83 for a Group C Hyundai Accent sedan with unlimited miles, plus a fee for using a credit card and a charge for an additional driver. They have a $3,300 excess, and their policy against driving on unsealed roads seemed a bit unreasonable.
Budget wanted $776.89 for a Group B Toyota Yaris hatchback with unlimited miles, a $2,750 excess, no charge for using a credit card or for an additional driver, and they permit driving on formed gravel roads. I’d booked using a coupon code which offered a free upgrade to a Group C car, but as it was based upon availability, we wouldn’t know until we arrived if we’d get it. The upgrade was to be the deciding factor, as we didn’t want to spend two weeks in a tiny hatchback. We checked with Budget first, the upgrade was available, so we went with them. We told them where we’d be driving, and were notified of their policy against driving between dusk and dawn north of Port Augusta (except within town). No problem. We walked to the Europecar counter and asked them to cancel our booking. With some excellent directions from Monique at the Budget counter, we were on our way to the Barossa Valley in our Toyota Corolla sedan.
Sep 22nd, 2009, 01:27 AM
#3
Thank you John, I'm nothing if not detailed. Here you go:
Our lodging – Barossa Valley, Casa Rossa - $185 per night.
htttp://www.stayz.com.au/13288
This is a lovely three bedroom cottage located on the outskirts of Lyndoch. It’s nestled in the country, overlooking a small vineyard. It’s comfortable, peaceful and secluded, and we were quite happy there. It has the longest hallway I’ve ever seen, and a pink toilet, tub and sink. Hmmmm…
Breakfast provisions were provided; wood smoked bacon, eggs, tomatoes, bread, milk, juice, etc. They also left us a nice bottle of red wine and a chocolate cake. We were off to a good start.
We were met at the cottage by caretaker Dennis, whom we asked for a dinner suggestion, as we were famished. He suggested the Lord Lyndoch steakhouse (aka the Black Pepper Cellar Restaurant) and even called to make a reservation for us.
http://www.lordlyndoch.com/cellar.asp
Dinner was excellent. Bill had the 300 gram Cape Grim tenderloin fillet with mashed potatoes and peppercorn sauce ($32). I had the parmesan crusted chicken breast on linguine tossed in garlic butter and sun dried tomatoes ($29). The food fest had begun.
It was here that we had our first taste of damper bread, in the form of piping hot rolls served with butter. With the first bite, our eyes closed and we moaned in unison. Fantastic! I asked the waitress what they were; I caught the words ‘damper’, ‘tin’ and ‘Adelaide’, but not much else. I’ve since learned that damper bread is similar to soda bread, and the secret seems to be in the baking. I’d love to know where to buy it or how to bake it, so Aussies, please do tell.
A couple of glasses of wine each and we were content (total $86).
Day 1 – Barossa Valley
Our time in the Barossa was limited, so we were up early and on our way to Tanunda, which incidentally, I have no idea how to pronounce. The vines were beginning to bud and we were surprised at how incredibly green it was. Apparently, we were in Jacob’s Creek territory, as their signs were everywhere, seeming to lay claim to most of the countryside. We had to wait for the Visitor’s Center to open, and had no luck finding an open café for a coffee on this Sunday morning.
When Tanunda finally woke up, we collected a map and plotted our course. I had a list of wineries suggested by Fodorites and TA members, so that’s where we began. We visited Peter Lehmann and Langmeil, liking several of their wines, but limiting ourselves to one purchase per winery, as we’d just gotten started. Then it was on to Seppeltsfield, which has an impressive grand entrance along an avenue of date palms. Even more impressive were their fortified wines. We really had to reign ourselves in here…sampling fortified wines is dangerous business; even more so because they have so many good ones. It was hard to choose just one, but we ended up purchasing a bottle of their Para Grand, taking solace in the fact that we can probably find their wines locally, and/or order online (one of the many advantages of living in Australia!).
We made a stop at the Seppelt mausoleum, not because we’re interested in dead people, but because it looked like a beautiful spot. It was - the views were great from up there.
http://www.seppeltsfieldroad.com/
Funny thing about those mausoleums….we saw many signs alongside SA roads pointing out mausoleums. They weren’t all mausoleums of course, most of them were memorials. It became a game, pointing out every mausoleum sign we came across, especially on the long drive days.
We needed food, so we sought out the much acclaimed Maggie Beer Farm. The place was packed; a cooking demonstration was about to begin, it was Father’s Day, chaos reigned. It took us a few minutes to sort out how this place worked, but we eventually got the gist. We placed our order; the roasted red pepper pate picnic basket for me and the pea, verjuice and mint vegetable pate picnic basket for Bill ($13.50 each). Each basket came with a small tub of soft cheese (gruth), a small tub of chutney, a small tub of cous-cous salad (freekah) and two white rolls (described as wood oven bread). There wasn’t enough bread for the pate, so we ordered four more rolls ($2.80). We dined on the patio, too busy indoors, and we pretty much froze our butts off.
Several people had raved about Maggie Beer as a place not to miss, but frankly, we just didn’t get it. The food was okay, nothing great, and certainly not what I considered good value. I can’t help but think we’d have liked it more if the food wasn’t served refrigerator cold and if it was presented as a platter, rather than in tiny plastic tubs. And some of that damper bread would have been perfect. Perhaps we’re just not pate people, but the whole Maggie Beer experience left us a bit perplexed.
http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/farmshop/
As we worked our way to Penfolds, we came across a police barricade. The cops were pulling everyone over and administering breathalyzers. Uh-oh, this can’t be good. Bill dutifully blew into the little tube with far too much gusto in my opinion. It took an awfully long time for the numbers to register, during which I had visions of being carted off to jail. The cop looked at the meter, then asked Bill if he’d been drinking, to which he cheerfully said “yes, sir”. We were waved through, crisis averted, thankful that we’d had the presence of mind to share our wine samples, and had even forced ourselves to tip a few into the spittoon, shameful waste that it was.
We sauntered into Penfolds and put the fear of god into all the patrons by telling them the cops were blocking the exit and there was no escape. Penfolds makes one of our favorite ports of all time, Grandfather, but we found the winery a bit pretentious for our tastes. Many of their wines are expensive, and they were selling Grandfather for $25 more than our local bottle shop. We didn’t stay long.
We were wined out, so we popped into the Angas Park shop in Angeston for a look see. They sell all manner of dried fruit, nuts and chocolate, but strangely enough, we left empty handed.
We then sought out Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park, 12 km southeast of Tanunda. I’d found it online while researching SA and was anxious to check out the trails. We walked the Stringybark hike, an easy 1.75 mile loop. I loved this walk….we saw grazing kangaroos, a lizard-like thing that hissed at us (a skink?), wildflowers and some trees we’ve not seen in WA. It was a really nice stroll, and I found myself wishing we had time to explore the park in earnest.
http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/par...uhl/visit.html
Dinner that night was at the Lord Lyndoch again, this time in their bistro, as the steakhouse is only open on Friday and Saturday nights. We were lucky to get a table, as we’d not booked and the place was hopping. Bill had the Chicken Parmigiana, touted as ‘the best parmi in the Barossa’ ($18.50, and it was pretty darn good). I had the pumpkin soup ($7.50). No damper bread this time, must be just for the steakhouse. Bummer.
We had fun finding our cottage in the dark - it was pitch black. We caught a glimpse of some furry brown animal standing on its hind feet as we rounded a bend - no idea what it was, but we were definitely intrigued…
Our lodging – Barossa Valley, Casa Rossa - $185 per night.
htttp://www.stayz.com.au/13288
This is a lovely three bedroom cottage located on the outskirts of Lyndoch. It’s nestled in the country, overlooking a small vineyard. It’s comfortable, peaceful and secluded, and we were quite happy there. It has the longest hallway I’ve ever seen, and a pink toilet, tub and sink. Hmmmm…
Breakfast provisions were provided; wood smoked bacon, eggs, tomatoes, bread, milk, juice, etc. They also left us a nice bottle of red wine and a chocolate cake. We were off to a good start.
We were met at the cottage by caretaker Dennis, whom we asked for a dinner suggestion, as we were famished. He suggested the Lord Lyndoch steakhouse (aka the Black Pepper Cellar Restaurant) and even called to make a reservation for us.
http://www.lordlyndoch.com/cellar.asp
Dinner was excellent. Bill had the 300 gram Cape Grim tenderloin fillet with mashed potatoes and peppercorn sauce ($32). I had the parmesan crusted chicken breast on linguine tossed in garlic butter and sun dried tomatoes ($29). The food fest had begun.
It was here that we had our first taste of damper bread, in the form of piping hot rolls served with butter. With the first bite, our eyes closed and we moaned in unison. Fantastic! I asked the waitress what they were; I caught the words ‘damper’, ‘tin’ and ‘Adelaide’, but not much else. I’ve since learned that damper bread is similar to soda bread, and the secret seems to be in the baking. I’d love to know where to buy it or how to bake it, so Aussies, please do tell.
A couple of glasses of wine each and we were content (total $86).
Day 1 – Barossa Valley
Our time in the Barossa was limited, so we were up early and on our way to Tanunda, which incidentally, I have no idea how to pronounce. The vines were beginning to bud and we were surprised at how incredibly green it was. Apparently, we were in Jacob’s Creek territory, as their signs were everywhere, seeming to lay claim to most of the countryside. We had to wait for the Visitor’s Center to open, and had no luck finding an open café for a coffee on this Sunday morning.
When Tanunda finally woke up, we collected a map and plotted our course. I had a list of wineries suggested by Fodorites and TA members, so that’s where we began. We visited Peter Lehmann and Langmeil, liking several of their wines, but limiting ourselves to one purchase per winery, as we’d just gotten started. Then it was on to Seppeltsfield, which has an impressive grand entrance along an avenue of date palms. Even more impressive were their fortified wines. We really had to reign ourselves in here…sampling fortified wines is dangerous business; even more so because they have so many good ones. It was hard to choose just one, but we ended up purchasing a bottle of their Para Grand, taking solace in the fact that we can probably find their wines locally, and/or order online (one of the many advantages of living in Australia!).
We made a stop at the Seppelt mausoleum, not because we’re interested in dead people, but because it looked like a beautiful spot. It was - the views were great from up there.
http://www.seppeltsfieldroad.com/
Funny thing about those mausoleums….we saw many signs alongside SA roads pointing out mausoleums. They weren’t all mausoleums of course, most of them were memorials. It became a game, pointing out every mausoleum sign we came across, especially on the long drive days.
We needed food, so we sought out the much acclaimed Maggie Beer Farm. The place was packed; a cooking demonstration was about to begin, it was Father’s Day, chaos reigned. It took us a few minutes to sort out how this place worked, but we eventually got the gist. We placed our order; the roasted red pepper pate picnic basket for me and the pea, verjuice and mint vegetable pate picnic basket for Bill ($13.50 each). Each basket came with a small tub of soft cheese (gruth), a small tub of chutney, a small tub of cous-cous salad (freekah) and two white rolls (described as wood oven bread). There wasn’t enough bread for the pate, so we ordered four more rolls ($2.80). We dined on the patio, too busy indoors, and we pretty much froze our butts off.
Several people had raved about Maggie Beer as a place not to miss, but frankly, we just didn’t get it. The food was okay, nothing great, and certainly not what I considered good value. I can’t help but think we’d have liked it more if the food wasn’t served refrigerator cold and if it was presented as a platter, rather than in tiny plastic tubs. And some of that damper bread would have been perfect. Perhaps we’re just not pate people, but the whole Maggie Beer experience left us a bit perplexed.
http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/farmshop/
As we worked our way to Penfolds, we came across a police barricade. The cops were pulling everyone over and administering breathalyzers. Uh-oh, this can’t be good. Bill dutifully blew into the little tube with far too much gusto in my opinion. It took an awfully long time for the numbers to register, during which I had visions of being carted off to jail. The cop looked at the meter, then asked Bill if he’d been drinking, to which he cheerfully said “yes, sir”. We were waved through, crisis averted, thankful that we’d had the presence of mind to share our wine samples, and had even forced ourselves to tip a few into the spittoon, shameful waste that it was.
We sauntered into Penfolds and put the fear of god into all the patrons by telling them the cops were blocking the exit and there was no escape. Penfolds makes one of our favorite ports of all time, Grandfather, but we found the winery a bit pretentious for our tastes. Many of their wines are expensive, and they were selling Grandfather for $25 more than our local bottle shop. We didn’t stay long.
We were wined out, so we popped into the Angas Park shop in Angeston for a look see. They sell all manner of dried fruit, nuts and chocolate, but strangely enough, we left empty handed.
We then sought out Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park, 12 km southeast of Tanunda. I’d found it online while researching SA and was anxious to check out the trails. We walked the Stringybark hike, an easy 1.75 mile loop. I loved this walk….we saw grazing kangaroos, a lizard-like thing that hissed at us (a skink?), wildflowers and some trees we’ve not seen in WA. It was a really nice stroll, and I found myself wishing we had time to explore the park in earnest.
http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/par...uhl/visit.html
Dinner that night was at the Lord Lyndoch again, this time in their bistro, as the steakhouse is only open on Friday and Saturday nights. We were lucky to get a table, as we’d not booked and the place was hopping. Bill had the Chicken Parmigiana, touted as ‘the best parmi in the Barossa’ ($18.50, and it was pretty darn good). I had the pumpkin soup ($7.50). No damper bread this time, must be just for the steakhouse. Bummer.
We had fun finding our cottage in the dark - it was pitch black. We caught a glimpse of some furry brown animal standing on its hind feet as we rounded a bend - no idea what it was, but we were definitely intrigued…
Sep 22nd, 2009, 05:12 PM
#4
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Fabulous. I appreciate the minutiae as it helps in the planning / assessment of taking up and doing things that you have done.And I know that you took a lot of advice in planning this trip so all the better .
Pity about Maggie Beer . I think the farm is a victim of her high profile from TV and books . I enjoy eating her products and especially her ice cream ( passionfruit and the lemon !!) but I agree that a chaotic setting on a cold and busy weekend is not ideal.
The furry animal was likely a wallaby - or a giant Barosssa rat .lol
Looking forward to the next instalment .
Pity about Maggie Beer . I think the farm is a victim of her high profile from TV and books . I enjoy eating her products and especially her ice cream ( passionfruit and the lemon !!) but I agree that a chaotic setting on a cold and busy weekend is not ideal.
The furry animal was likely a wallaby - or a giant Barosssa rat .lol
Looking forward to the next instalment .
Sep 22nd, 2009, 09:10 PM
#6
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Great report, Mel! Thank you - looking forward to the rest, especially Coober Pedy.
In 1966, we drove down from Darwin to Adelaide, in a tiny VW Beetle, with "lay-back" seats as our home (not even a tent!) . At that time, there were no tarred roads, just lots of dirt and rock and bulldust. Wonderful trip, and Coober Pedy still is a highlight for me. eg Sign on the drive in theatre -" no utes admitted with explosives in the back", the man with a set of opal teeth, and the thrill of "noodling" and finding an opalised shell.
Am sure you enjoyed it too.
In 1966, we drove down from Darwin to Adelaide, in a tiny VW Beetle, with "lay-back" seats as our home (not even a tent!) . At that time, there were no tarred roads, just lots of dirt and rock and bulldust. Wonderful trip, and Coober Pedy still is a highlight for me. eg Sign on the drive in theatre -" no utes admitted with explosives in the back", the man with a set of opal teeth, and the thrill of "noodling" and finding an opalised shell.
Am sure you enjoyed it too.
Sep 22nd, 2009, 10:23 PM
#7
Hi Carrabella -
Coober Pedy was the highlight of this trip for me - it's the most unique place I've ever visited and I'm really glad we decided to go for it and not be discouraged by the long trek.
I can't imagine making that drive on dirt roads in a Beetle though - you're tougher than I am.
Coober Pedy was the highlight of this trip for me - it's the most unique place I've ever visited and I'm really glad we decided to go for it and not be discouraged by the long trek.
I can't imagine making that drive on dirt roads in a Beetle though - you're tougher than I am.
Sep 23rd, 2009, 12:03 AM
#8
Day 2 – Barossa Valley
We drove towards Williamstown to visit the Whispering Wall (a RalphR suggestion). It was wet and gloomy, but we didn’t care. Bill walked across the dam, and while waiting for him to reach the other side, I suddenly heard footsteps, which startled me because I was alone. I swung around to see who was behind me, but no one was there. A few seconds later I heard “Mel, can you hear me”? Freaky! Bill was some 140 meters away on the opposite side of the dam, yet he sounded as if he were right next to me, and the footsteps I’d heard were his!
http://barossa-whispering-wall.biznz.net/
When we finished playing at the dam, we attempted to locate Warren Conservation Park, which according to my internet research offers four walk trails and ‘the best views of the Barossa’. We stopped at the Mt Crawford Forest Information center to get a map and directions, and were told that Warren Conservation Park is only accessible via a rough unsealed road. We canned that idea and took the walk suggestion offered by a helpful forest service employee instead. We were soon walking the Tower Hill Track in Mt Crawford Forest, which is part of the Heyson Track, a 1,200 km trail that traverses some of the most scenic areas of South Australia.
http://www.heysentrail.asn.au/heysen_trail/
Despite the wet weather, mud and abundance of sheep poop, we enjoyed this walk. I found it interesting that the soil is full of gold specks. When we reached the top, the potential views were completely obscured by low fog. It was so green it was surreal, and I felt as if we were in the Scottish Highlands rather than on a hill in South Australia. We got rained on more than once and the mozzies had a good munch. This would have been an excellent walk on a dry clear day, but you can’t have everything (2.5 miles return). We’d been told SA was having the wettest winter they’d had in years and I was beginning to believe it.
We backtracked to Williamstown and worked our way to Tanunda where we called in at Jacob’s Creek. We’re not fans of Jacob’s Creek; we consumed plenty of their low range export plunk when we lived on Sumatra and didn’t have much choice. There’s probably at least one bottle of Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay still making the rounds in our old neighborhood, looking for someone desperate enough to drink it.
That said, we were curious about the winery and wanted to give them a fair shake. They have a massive range of wines. We sampled a bit, and rather liked their Orlando 10 year old tawny and their sparkling pinot, so into the trunk it went.
The next winery on our list was Grant Burge….lovely winery, great wines, another bottle into the trunk.
Time for food. We sought out 1918 Bistro and Grill in Tanunda (suggested by someone here or on TA, sorry, my memory is pitiful). While walking up the street toward the restaurant we passed a bakery emanating a mouth watering aroma of grilled wurst. We decided then and there if the menu at 1918 didn’t appeal we’d check out the bakery, which is how we ended up at Die Barossa Wurst Haus and Bakery, noshing on grilled bratwurst with cheese, sauerkraut and mustard on homemade rolls ($9 each). Excellent. And that’s high praise from someone who normally eschews meat. The wurst was so good that we decided to give the chocolate cake a whirl, sharing a piece over flat whites ($13.50 total). The flat whites were perfect, the cake unfortunately, looked better than it tasted.
Our next stop was Two Hands winery, which was suggested to us by a helpful young man at Jacob’s Creek, who’d quizzed Bill about the oil industry in WA between pours. Being devoted fans of shiraz, he thought we might like to make a side-by-side comparison of shiraz from McLaren Vale, Barossa and Coonawarra, which is exactly what we did, giving Two Hands two thumbs up for their Gnarly Dudes Barossa Valley Shiraz, and not just because we liked the name. The young woman who poured for us at Two Hands gave us some suggestions for places to visit in the Clare and Adelaide Hills, which is how our wish list kept growing.
Our last winery of the day was Rockford Wines, where we discovered yet another lovely tawny and empathized with a couple from South Africa trying to figure out how to ship all their wine back home. Been there.
Back at the cottage we shared a pre-dinner glass of wine on the patio with the mozzies and the birds.
Dinner that night was at the…you guessed it….Lord Lyndoch Bistro, where Bill had a ½ order of grilled whiting ($15.50) and I stuck with the pumpkin soup ($7.50). Still good.
We drove towards Williamstown to visit the Whispering Wall (a RalphR suggestion). It was wet and gloomy, but we didn’t care. Bill walked across the dam, and while waiting for him to reach the other side, I suddenly heard footsteps, which startled me because I was alone. I swung around to see who was behind me, but no one was there. A few seconds later I heard “Mel, can you hear me”? Freaky! Bill was some 140 meters away on the opposite side of the dam, yet he sounded as if he were right next to me, and the footsteps I’d heard were his!
http://barossa-whispering-wall.biznz.net/
When we finished playing at the dam, we attempted to locate Warren Conservation Park, which according to my internet research offers four walk trails and ‘the best views of the Barossa’. We stopped at the Mt Crawford Forest Information center to get a map and directions, and were told that Warren Conservation Park is only accessible via a rough unsealed road. We canned that idea and took the walk suggestion offered by a helpful forest service employee instead. We were soon walking the Tower Hill Track in Mt Crawford Forest, which is part of the Heyson Track, a 1,200 km trail that traverses some of the most scenic areas of South Australia.
http://www.heysentrail.asn.au/heysen_trail/
Despite the wet weather, mud and abundance of sheep poop, we enjoyed this walk. I found it interesting that the soil is full of gold specks. When we reached the top, the potential views were completely obscured by low fog. It was so green it was surreal, and I felt as if we were in the Scottish Highlands rather than on a hill in South Australia. We got rained on more than once and the mozzies had a good munch. This would have been an excellent walk on a dry clear day, but you can’t have everything (2.5 miles return). We’d been told SA was having the wettest winter they’d had in years and I was beginning to believe it.
We backtracked to Williamstown and worked our way to Tanunda where we called in at Jacob’s Creek. We’re not fans of Jacob’s Creek; we consumed plenty of their low range export plunk when we lived on Sumatra and didn’t have much choice. There’s probably at least one bottle of Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay still making the rounds in our old neighborhood, looking for someone desperate enough to drink it.
That said, we were curious about the winery and wanted to give them a fair shake. They have a massive range of wines. We sampled a bit, and rather liked their Orlando 10 year old tawny and their sparkling pinot, so into the trunk it went.
The next winery on our list was Grant Burge….lovely winery, great wines, another bottle into the trunk.
Time for food. We sought out 1918 Bistro and Grill in Tanunda (suggested by someone here or on TA, sorry, my memory is pitiful). While walking up the street toward the restaurant we passed a bakery emanating a mouth watering aroma of grilled wurst. We decided then and there if the menu at 1918 didn’t appeal we’d check out the bakery, which is how we ended up at Die Barossa Wurst Haus and Bakery, noshing on grilled bratwurst with cheese, sauerkraut and mustard on homemade rolls ($9 each). Excellent. And that’s high praise from someone who normally eschews meat. The wurst was so good that we decided to give the chocolate cake a whirl, sharing a piece over flat whites ($13.50 total). The flat whites were perfect, the cake unfortunately, looked better than it tasted.
Our next stop was Two Hands winery, which was suggested to us by a helpful young man at Jacob’s Creek, who’d quizzed Bill about the oil industry in WA between pours. Being devoted fans of shiraz, he thought we might like to make a side-by-side comparison of shiraz from McLaren Vale, Barossa and Coonawarra, which is exactly what we did, giving Two Hands two thumbs up for their Gnarly Dudes Barossa Valley Shiraz, and not just because we liked the name. The young woman who poured for us at Two Hands gave us some suggestions for places to visit in the Clare and Adelaide Hills, which is how our wish list kept growing.
Our last winery of the day was Rockford Wines, where we discovered yet another lovely tawny and empathized with a couple from South Africa trying to figure out how to ship all their wine back home. Been there.
Back at the cottage we shared a pre-dinner glass of wine on the patio with the mozzies and the birds.
Dinner that night was at the…you guessed it….Lord Lyndoch Bistro, where Bill had a ½ order of grilled whiting ($15.50) and I stuck with the pumpkin soup ($7.50). Still good.
Sep 23rd, 2009, 04:21 AM
#10
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Hi Mel!
Add me to the list of people enjoying your report!
RalphR -- after this last installment, shouldn't you have said you want to go back in the WURST way? <ducking!
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
I think JohnFitz hit the nail on the head with Maggie Beer; gotton to be too big of an operation, too commercial.
I laughed out loud (and commiserated with Bill) at your description of being stopped by the cops and given a test - the same exact thing happened to me in Southern France!
We'd done the same thing, shared a few pours, I'd sipped, being the driver, and it was the weirdest thing - we came around a corner in this very very rural area and there were about 5 police cars blocking the road! Turns out it was some holiday we didn't even know about and so several villages' cops pooled together for a sting operation!
I passed the test, but it was a few tense moments there, trying to recall how many sips, and realizing I didn't even know the French limit anyway!
Melodie
Add me to the list of people enjoying your report!
RalphR -- after this last installment, shouldn't you have said you want to go back in the WURST way? <ducking!
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
I think JohnFitz hit the nail on the head with Maggie Beer; gotton to be too big of an operation, too commercial.
I laughed out loud (and commiserated with Bill) at your description of being stopped by the cops and given a test - the same exact thing happened to me in Southern France!
We'd done the same thing, shared a few pours, I'd sipped, being the driver, and it was the weirdest thing - we came around a corner in this very very rural area and there were about 5 police cars blocking the road! Turns out it was some holiday we didn't even know about and so several villages' cops pooled together for a sting operation!
I passed the test, but it was a few tense moments there, trying to recall how many sips, and realizing I didn't even know the French limit anyway!
Melodie
Sep 23rd, 2009, 04:33 AM
#12
Hi Melodie -
The limit in Australia is .05%, half of that in most states in the US, so one needs to be very careful in wine country.... One of the benefits of being a passenger was that I could swill at will.
The limit in Australia is .05%, half of that in most states in the US, so one needs to be very careful in wine country.... One of the benefits of being a passenger was that I could swill at will.
Sep 23rd, 2009, 06:48 AM
#13
Day 3 – Barossa & Clare
We left our lovely cottage behind and drove to the Lyndoch Lavender farm, home to some 90 varieties of lavender, most of which flower in November. There was plenty to see even this early in the season, so we strolled the grounds and purchased some bath salts for my lavender loving mom.
We exited the lavender farm via a back road which led us through the incredibly green countryside alive with gorgeous brightly colored parrots (Rainbow Lorikeets…I think).
While visiting Rockford the previous day, Bill’s interest had been piqued in a neighboring winery, Villa Tinto (‘House of Red’), so we popped in for a tasting. It didn’t appear to be open, but a rather hairy barrel-chested, beret wearing gentleman pruning the vines invited us into the cellar.
Turns out he was the owner, Alberto Di Palma, and we spent the next 90 minutes being entertained by this chatty Argentinean who regaled us with story after story as we sampled our way through his fantastic reds. What a character! He knew Robert Mondavi, who has been credited with introducing Napa Valley wines to the world.
This visit was the highlight of our time in the Barossa and a perfect example of what we enjoy most about family owned wineries; meeting the people who make the wine, sharing their passion for a good drop, and getting a tiny peek at the inner workings of their business. Fantastic stop, lovely wine, delightful host.
http://www.villatinto.com.au/
Die Barossa Wurst Haus was calling us back, so we had an encore lunch of bratwurst, followed by another perfect flat white.
We left Tanunda via A20, Sturt Highway and A32. First there were vines as far as the eyes could see, then green rolling hills, then the sudden appearance of field after field of bright yellow canola – what a contrast! I couldn’t get enough of the canola fields; I drove Bill to distraction repeatedly asking him to pull over so I could try to capture those vibrant yellow fields with my Canon.
The ruins of old stone buildings began to appear and we passed through Tarlee in the blink of an eye; we got a kick out of the sign announcing “That was Tarlee” mere seconds after we entered the one horse ‘town’.
Just past Tarlee we picked up B82 headed north. The landscape was dotted with farms and acres of flowering canola alternating with other mysterious crops, looking suspiciously like a yellow and green patchwork quilt.
We arrived in Clare 90 minutes after leaving Tanunda, located our digs, dropped off our gear, and immediately headed to Burra, another must see place someone had mentioned. It was a pretty drive through wide open country. We stopped to photograph an unusual swath of canola, and lest you think I have a weird canola fetish, there was another woman trying to capture the same scene. (I’ll post a link to some photos when I finish plowing through the hundreds that I took).
Once in Burra we drove the Heritage Trail (Tourist Drive 16), and made a quick stop at the Burra open cut copper mine; quick, because it was fiercely cold and windy. We drove past the scabby old railroad station and generally poked around the sleepy historic town, which we found interesting in a dilapidated kind of way.
http://www.visitburra.com/
Back in Clare we had just enough time for one winery, so we popped into Knappstein, where we promptly fell in love with their 2005 Yertabulti Shiraz.
Our lodging – Clare Valley – Edilillie Vineyard, $170 per night
http://www.edilillie.com.au/
This three bedroom old stone cottage is located about 2 km from Clare, completely secluded and surrounded by vineyards. Some might consider it a character cottage, complete with creaky wood floors, lethargic plumbing and crumbling masonry. We found it rough around the edges yet oddly endearing. We were leery at first, but the place sort of grew on us. It was god awful cold though, and the lone reverse cycle unit in the lounge wasn’t much help, so we took refuge in the coziest room in the house, the master bedroom.
We never met the owners as they didn’t come around and we had no idea where they lived. We left the money we owed on a kitchen counter as they gave us no instructions on how to pay the balance. It was just us, the sheep and entirely too many millipedes.
Generous breakfast provisions were provided, way more than we could possibly eat – two loaves of bread, gobs of fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, coffee, etc.
We sat on the porch, bundled up in our fleece jackets and hats, sipping chilled Langmeil Live Wire Riesling while watching the sun set over the vineyard. Yep, this place was definitely growing on us, warts and all.
Dinner that night was at Clare Asian Cuisine. Extremely slow service, but really good food – Tom Yam soup and green chicken curry for Bill, basil chicken for me ($50 total).
We left our lovely cottage behind and drove to the Lyndoch Lavender farm, home to some 90 varieties of lavender, most of which flower in November. There was plenty to see even this early in the season, so we strolled the grounds and purchased some bath salts for my lavender loving mom.
We exited the lavender farm via a back road which led us through the incredibly green countryside alive with gorgeous brightly colored parrots (Rainbow Lorikeets…I think).
While visiting Rockford the previous day, Bill’s interest had been piqued in a neighboring winery, Villa Tinto (‘House of Red’), so we popped in for a tasting. It didn’t appear to be open, but a rather hairy barrel-chested, beret wearing gentleman pruning the vines invited us into the cellar.
Turns out he was the owner, Alberto Di Palma, and we spent the next 90 minutes being entertained by this chatty Argentinean who regaled us with story after story as we sampled our way through his fantastic reds. What a character! He knew Robert Mondavi, who has been credited with introducing Napa Valley wines to the world.
This visit was the highlight of our time in the Barossa and a perfect example of what we enjoy most about family owned wineries; meeting the people who make the wine, sharing their passion for a good drop, and getting a tiny peek at the inner workings of their business. Fantastic stop, lovely wine, delightful host.
http://www.villatinto.com.au/
Die Barossa Wurst Haus was calling us back, so we had an encore lunch of bratwurst, followed by another perfect flat white.
We left Tanunda via A20, Sturt Highway and A32. First there were vines as far as the eyes could see, then green rolling hills, then the sudden appearance of field after field of bright yellow canola – what a contrast! I couldn’t get enough of the canola fields; I drove Bill to distraction repeatedly asking him to pull over so I could try to capture those vibrant yellow fields with my Canon.
The ruins of old stone buildings began to appear and we passed through Tarlee in the blink of an eye; we got a kick out of the sign announcing “That was Tarlee” mere seconds after we entered the one horse ‘town’.
Just past Tarlee we picked up B82 headed north. The landscape was dotted with farms and acres of flowering canola alternating with other mysterious crops, looking suspiciously like a yellow and green patchwork quilt.
We arrived in Clare 90 minutes after leaving Tanunda, located our digs, dropped off our gear, and immediately headed to Burra, another must see place someone had mentioned. It was a pretty drive through wide open country. We stopped to photograph an unusual swath of canola, and lest you think I have a weird canola fetish, there was another woman trying to capture the same scene. (I’ll post a link to some photos when I finish plowing through the hundreds that I took).
Once in Burra we drove the Heritage Trail (Tourist Drive 16), and made a quick stop at the Burra open cut copper mine; quick, because it was fiercely cold and windy. We drove past the scabby old railroad station and generally poked around the sleepy historic town, which we found interesting in a dilapidated kind of way.
http://www.visitburra.com/
Back in Clare we had just enough time for one winery, so we popped into Knappstein, where we promptly fell in love with their 2005 Yertabulti Shiraz.
Our lodging – Clare Valley – Edilillie Vineyard, $170 per night
http://www.edilillie.com.au/
This three bedroom old stone cottage is located about 2 km from Clare, completely secluded and surrounded by vineyards. Some might consider it a character cottage, complete with creaky wood floors, lethargic plumbing and crumbling masonry. We found it rough around the edges yet oddly endearing. We were leery at first, but the place sort of grew on us. It was god awful cold though, and the lone reverse cycle unit in the lounge wasn’t much help, so we took refuge in the coziest room in the house, the master bedroom.
We never met the owners as they didn’t come around and we had no idea where they lived. We left the money we owed on a kitchen counter as they gave us no instructions on how to pay the balance. It was just us, the sheep and entirely too many millipedes.
Generous breakfast provisions were provided, way more than we could possibly eat – two loaves of bread, gobs of fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, coffee, etc.
We sat on the porch, bundled up in our fleece jackets and hats, sipping chilled Langmeil Live Wire Riesling while watching the sun set over the vineyard. Yep, this place was definitely growing on us, warts and all.
Dinner that night was at Clare Asian Cuisine. Extremely slow service, but really good food – Tom Yam soup and green chicken curry for Bill, basil chicken for me ($50 total).
Sep 23rd, 2009, 03:21 PM
#15
Flinders Ranges would be an excellent choice Margo, but late October might be getting rather hot, so it really depends on your heat tolerance. I'm a hot weather wimp, so take that with a grain of salt. I much prefer hiking when it's very cool (and Flinders is all about hiking - some great hikes there).
Flinders was Bill's favorite. I placed Coober slightly ahead just because it was so incredibly unique.
Flinders was Bill's favorite. I placed Coober slightly ahead just because it was so incredibly unique.
Sep 23rd, 2009, 06:05 PM
#16
Day 4 - Clare valley
We only had one full day to explore the Clare Valley, so we’d plotted our course with the map we’d picked up the previous day at the Visitor’s Center. The wineries in the valley extend from Auburn in the south to beyond Stanley Flat in the north, past Clare. There are fewer wineries than in the Barossa and for the most part they’re readily accessible from the main road.
Clare felt like more of a real town than the towns in the Barossa, and overall we found it not as pretty and less interesting.
We drove south towards Auburn, planning to work our way back north to Clare. Our first stop was Taylor’s, a large winery that we had completely to ourselves. We were now in Riesling country, but we preferred their Shiraz and pinot noir. Our next stop was Annie’s Lane, which is huge; 1,300 acres. We were a bit shocked as we crested the hill and got our first glimpse of their sprawling operation. Once again, we were won over by their Shiraz, in this case their 2005 Copper Trail. It seemed as if we were spending more and more per bottle of wine as the trip progressed. Funny how that works.
Then it was off to Skillogalee, which had been recommended by RalphR, Bokhara2 and others here and on TA. With so many endorsements, it had to be good, so we began with a tasting and asked if they could fit us in for lunch. We don’t usually make restaurant bookings when we travel, but our strategy is to turn up early, which almost always gets us a table. Today was no exception.
Bill ordered the Burra eye fillet with Skillogalee cabernet glaze, pea and potato mash and broccolini ($33), accompanied with a glass of Take Two Shiraz Cabernet. He’d ordered medium rare, but was given medium well. He didn’t want to make a fuss, but I encouraged him to send it back, which he did and was happy he had, as he said it was perfect the second time around. His meal was so nicely presented that I felt compelled to photograph it!
I had the parsnip and capsicum soup ($10.50) with roll and butter washed down with their lovely 2006 Chardonnay.
We were given some tasty pappadoms with herbs to munch on while we waited for our meal.
For dessert we shared a slice of their Rich Chocolate Whisky cake with Raspberry Coulis and Double Cream ($11.90).
The recommendations were spot on, the food was excellent and we really enjoyed our time at Skillogalee ($69 total for meal and drinks). Thanks guys!
http://www.skillogalee.com.au/our_restaurant
We figured we needed some exercise, so we drove to Spring Gully Conservation Park to explore. We found a nice network of trails and plenty of trees and wildflowers which sent me on another photo snapping frenzy. We walked the Wyman’s Hike and the Cascades Trail, making a 2.5 mile loop through the park. It was really pretty through here.
We were getting wined out, but decided we’d make one last winery stop before we called it day, so we worked our way to Sevenhill Cellars, the oldest winery in the Clare Valley, established by the Jesuits. The grounds are beautiful and they offer guided tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
https://www.sevenhill.com.au/
We visited their museum and underground cellar, had a tasting, but didn’t stay long as they were busy and the ladies were a bit brusque, probably tried of dealing with tourists all day. My favorite part of this stop was meeting Frontignac, the cellar door cat, who was sleeping in an old wine barrel filled with straw. Apparently he was abandoned 14 years ago and had taken up residence in the winery.
After watching the sun set over the vineyard with the sheep bleating in the distance, we had dinner at Bentley’s Hotel pub. It was Schnitzel Night, so Bill had the Chicken Schnitzel with chips and salad (a bargain at $9.90) and I had the vegetarian spinach ricotta ($13.90). It never ceases to amaze me how good the food is in Australian pubs.
We only had one full day to explore the Clare Valley, so we’d plotted our course with the map we’d picked up the previous day at the Visitor’s Center. The wineries in the valley extend from Auburn in the south to beyond Stanley Flat in the north, past Clare. There are fewer wineries than in the Barossa and for the most part they’re readily accessible from the main road.
Clare felt like more of a real town than the towns in the Barossa, and overall we found it not as pretty and less interesting.
We drove south towards Auburn, planning to work our way back north to Clare. Our first stop was Taylor’s, a large winery that we had completely to ourselves. We were now in Riesling country, but we preferred their Shiraz and pinot noir. Our next stop was Annie’s Lane, which is huge; 1,300 acres. We were a bit shocked as we crested the hill and got our first glimpse of their sprawling operation. Once again, we were won over by their Shiraz, in this case their 2005 Copper Trail. It seemed as if we were spending more and more per bottle of wine as the trip progressed. Funny how that works.
Then it was off to Skillogalee, which had been recommended by RalphR, Bokhara2 and others here and on TA. With so many endorsements, it had to be good, so we began with a tasting and asked if they could fit us in for lunch. We don’t usually make restaurant bookings when we travel, but our strategy is to turn up early, which almost always gets us a table. Today was no exception.
Bill ordered the Burra eye fillet with Skillogalee cabernet glaze, pea and potato mash and broccolini ($33), accompanied with a glass of Take Two Shiraz Cabernet. He’d ordered medium rare, but was given medium well. He didn’t want to make a fuss, but I encouraged him to send it back, which he did and was happy he had, as he said it was perfect the second time around. His meal was so nicely presented that I felt compelled to photograph it!
I had the parsnip and capsicum soup ($10.50) with roll and butter washed down with their lovely 2006 Chardonnay.
We were given some tasty pappadoms with herbs to munch on while we waited for our meal.
For dessert we shared a slice of their Rich Chocolate Whisky cake with Raspberry Coulis and Double Cream ($11.90).
The recommendations were spot on, the food was excellent and we really enjoyed our time at Skillogalee ($69 total for meal and drinks). Thanks guys!
http://www.skillogalee.com.au/our_restaurant
We figured we needed some exercise, so we drove to Spring Gully Conservation Park to explore. We found a nice network of trails and plenty of trees and wildflowers which sent me on another photo snapping frenzy. We walked the Wyman’s Hike and the Cascades Trail, making a 2.5 mile loop through the park. It was really pretty through here.
We were getting wined out, but decided we’d make one last winery stop before we called it day, so we worked our way to Sevenhill Cellars, the oldest winery in the Clare Valley, established by the Jesuits. The grounds are beautiful and they offer guided tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
https://www.sevenhill.com.au/
We visited their museum and underground cellar, had a tasting, but didn’t stay long as they were busy and the ladies were a bit brusque, probably tried of dealing with tourists all day. My favorite part of this stop was meeting Frontignac, the cellar door cat, who was sleeping in an old wine barrel filled with straw. Apparently he was abandoned 14 years ago and had taken up residence in the winery.
After watching the sun set over the vineyard with the sheep bleating in the distance, we had dinner at Bentley’s Hotel pub. It was Schnitzel Night, so Bill had the Chicken Schnitzel with chips and salad (a bargain at $9.90) and I had the vegetarian spinach ricotta ($13.90). It never ceases to amaze me how good the food is in Australian pubs.
Sep 23rd, 2009, 07:14 PM
#17
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Thanks, Mel, for such an informative, well-written report. Me, I'm sitting here castigating myself for never having written that Bali trip report that I fear I promised when you were still living in Indonesia.
I recall it being said that the Barossa was populated by German Lutherans escaping from the Catholics, while the Clare became the home of German Catholics escaping from the Lutherans. If so, there's a certain irony in the fact that they both ended up in roughly the same neck of the woods, making wine.
More clearly I recall reading that the colonial governor of South Australia frequently petitioned the Colonial Office in London to send more self-reliant, hardworking German emigrants in his direction (presumably at the expense of his own compatriots).
I recall it being said that the Barossa was populated by German Lutherans escaping from the Catholics, while the Clare became the home of German Catholics escaping from the Lutherans. If so, there's a certain irony in the fact that they both ended up in roughly the same neck of the woods, making wine.
More clearly I recall reading that the colonial governor of South Australia frequently petitioned the Colonial Office in London to send more self-reliant, hardworking German emigrants in his direction (presumably at the expense of his own compatriots).
Sep 23rd, 2009, 07:55 PM
#18
I was wondering where that report was Neil.
Perhaps we liked the Barossa so much because Bill comes from a long line of German Lutherans. There's some German in my woodpile too, and my maiden name is a dead giveaway. I guess there's a reason Bill calls me a 'stubborn old kraut'.
I'd read about the German influence before we left, but I was still surprised at how pervasive it was. We were in heaven with all the German food which we even found way down in Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula. And of course Bill was pleasantly surprised to find his favorite German brew on tap in Hahndorf.
Perhaps we liked the Barossa so much because Bill comes from a long line of German Lutherans. There's some German in my woodpile too, and my maiden name is a dead giveaway. I guess there's a reason Bill calls me a 'stubborn old kraut'.
I'd read about the German influence before we left, but I was still surprised at how pervasive it was. We were in heaven with all the German food which we even found way down in Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula. And of course Bill was pleasantly surprised to find his favorite German brew on tap in Hahndorf.
