Sunday, March 18 – Barossa Wine Tasting

We were up relatively early and ready for breakfast by 8. Nice view from the porch by our room - just across the street, we could see vineyards!

Wine trees in the morning sunlight

Justin was cooking and the menu selections were great! Nice egg dishes and other choices too, with delicious coffee and juices. This was my first introduction to the seemingly Aussie tradition of serving the eggs over the toast on a plate. And lots of avocados with breakfast. Tasty!

Lanzerac Country Estate

We had some time to wander the grounds before our 10:00 pickup. Here is a view of the common room where we have happy hour and breakfast. The guest rooms are in the building to the left, behind the trees.

Right on time, we met up with Lis from Barossa Exclusive Tours, and off we went.

Elderton Cellar Door

We got right to work and did three tastings before our lunch stop. First was Penfolds. Luckily we had eaten a good breakfast because the pours were generous and there were plenty of red wines to be had. We picked up a few - white for drinking here, and a red to take home.

Next we stopped at a small producer, Elderton Wines. The grounds at the winery were beautiful. They also made a nice rose which we bought for sipping later. 

Elderton Cellar Door

Our third stop was Seabrook. Another small place with tasty wines, including a Grenache, a Mataro, and Marsanne. A few more bottles joined the others. It's not just Shiraz here, and we were glad to have the variety. Not all of these varietals are readily available. It seems that the selection of Aussie wines back home is more limited.

Enjoying the scenery at Seabrook Cellar Door

Now it was time to have some lunch, which was a good idea after all of that wine. On the way, we stopped at a lookout and the whole Barossa Valley opened up before us.

Mengler's Hill Lookout, Barossa Valley. Note the sculpture park in the foreground.

Lunch was at another winery, of course - Lambert Estates. Lis managed to get us a pre-lunch tasting here too, ostensibly so we could decide which full glass we wanted with lunch. It is shaping up to be a great day!

Lunch was fairly light. A few dips, some sausage and pate, olives, bread. Relaxing and we could nibble at our own pace.

Rose and Grenache went well with the view.

After lunch we headed to Seppeltsfield for a special tour. They had barrels of port dating back to the late 1800s, and they do a fun program where you can taste the vintage port from your birth year. 

Port is aged in the attic, not a cellar

Since this was a big birthday for me, we both decided to do their "Taste Your Birth Year" tour, and it was certainly something special to do.

So, after a little introduction to port wine making, we climbed up to the attic to search out your particular barrel. Lots of barrels here! I found the one from 1874. I need something a little more recent, I think!

The late 1960s in a barrel

These barrels look a little more like it. But come to think of it, you're on the honor system here. Nobody checked my ID...

We staked our claim at the barrels and our guide came around and tapped them for us. Tasted like a regular old vintage port, but a pretty cool thing to do nonetheless. Maybe I'll come back in another few decades to see if it tastes any different?

After the tasting we had time to wander the grounds a bit.

Lots of old buildings and a vintage car. There is also an exhibit on the history of the estate.

Buildings at Seppeltsfield Cellar Door

But the tour does take a lot of time, so after that we had to move along. Lis had more stops planned.

We finally got moving again and were able to get two more tastings in. First was Turkey Flat, and finally St. Hallet. We cut it close with the last one, as we barely made it before closing. They weren't really excited to see us when we first came in, as they were starting to clean up. But Lis pulled some strings and they let us taste some nice wines, including some old vine specimens. We bought a few bottles so it all ended up good for everyone.

Back to our B&B for a breather before dinner. Of course, we had some wine with happy hour, and then it was time for dinner. We had already made a reservation at Bistro 1918, another restaurant in town, and Justin drove us again. Even though we weren’t terribly hungry, a light dinner was nice.

Then a good night’s sleep was in order. We have an ambitious driving day planned tomorrow. We will end up in Adelaide, which isn’t far, but we’re taking a circuitous route to see some unique (we hope) landmarks along the way. So we might drive a lot more than expected.