Australia Road Trip: Coonawarra Wineries and Adelaide, Day 19-21

Feb 19-21

Hi All,

Wow, wow and another wow….we expected to be blown away by the Coonawarra wineries and indeed we were!! We got an early start in yuckee weather again. The sun had come out the previous afternoon and evening and we thought we were going to have pleasant weather….not to be….dark clouds and misty rain and windy….we were going to go see a few more ocean sights but decided to stay in the warm and dry car so kept on going and boy, were we glad we did!!

We have left the crowds behind…yeah!!!! The word we got was past the 12 Apostles you are no longer in the day tourists out of Melbourne and that is correct!! We made 8 wineries in the 2 days and in 5 of the 8 we were the only ones in the tasting room…reminded us of the early days of Napa and Livermore….almost like a private tasting and we had some very, very looooong tastings with lot’s of bottles:)))))

We went to Katnook, Ottela, Penley, Highbank, Zema, Majella, Wynn’s and Hollick!!! I’d say 90% of the Shiraz and Cabs I tasted I liked….just delicious….dark, full body, soft and bursting with flavor!!! And, Kathy liked many of the whites!!! These wines do quite well in international competition and we bought several to bring home to cellar!! We were told the climate is similar to Bordeaux….it’s the same distance from the equator she told us….well, I googled it and Coonawarra is actually the same latitude as Napa….about 38 deg and Bordeaux is 44 deg!!

Coonawarra is a narrow strip of land….like 4 x 40 kilometers or so we were told….”The Coonawarra wine region is a wine region centered on the town of Coonawarra in the Limestone Coast zone of South Australia. It is known for the Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced on its “terra rossa” soil. Coonawarra is an Aboriginal word meaning “Honeysuckle”. It is about 380 km southeast of Adelaide, close to the border with Victoria. The first vines were planted by John Riddoch at Yallum, South Australia in 1890. Only the Redman family of Rouge Homme continued to produce table wine during this period, during which Shiraz was the main grape variety grown.

Fortunes changed when Samuel Wynn recognised the potential of the strip of terra rossa soil, and bought the original Riddoch cellars in 1951. Led by Wynns and Penfolds, Coonawarra was to play a leading role in the transformation of the Australian wine industry as it changed from making fortified wines to conventional table wines. Coonawarra’s terra rossa soil is one of the notable terroirs of the New World, covering an area of just 15 km x 2 km north of Penola. It lies on a shallow limestone ridge, raising it above the swampy land either side – it is no coincidence that the Riddoch Highway follows this ridge as carters sought the firmest ground in times past.

We met, talked and tasted wines with the owner of Highbank wines, Dennis Vice…we stayed in their cottage in the vineyard. Dennis is from California, was in the agriculture business and relocated to this area 30 years ago. He is a professor and consultant in the winemaking business in Australia and he regaled us with a long history lesson full of stories of the various characters. He owns a small boutique winery so he can keep his hands in the “soil” and his wines were exceptional!!

On the 2nd day we ended up at Hollick wines for a late lunch….around 1:30ish….just one of those perfect days….a great lunch on the veranda….superb food and wine…after the 2nd glass the waiter says…are you going to any more wineries today….hmmm, we want to but this is such a lovely setting it’s hard to move….ok, how about I just set the bottle in front of you and you guys decide….hmmm, we stayed the rest of the afternoon:)))

Today we made the 4.5 hour drive to Adelaide. We took the direct route through more pasture country but did pass through another large wine region called Padthaway. We will spend the rest of the day/tomorrow morning getting sorted for our flight tomorrow to Perth (7 days, 6 nights), then the GSR (Great Southern Railway) train trip from Perth back to Adelaide (2 days) then off to Kangaroo Island for our vacation at Southern Ocean Lodge (4 nights).

Stats:
Traveled: 225 miles to Port Fairy; 2025 miles total
Wrong turns: 0 today; 2 total
Kangaroo/”Roos”/Skippy count: 0 this leg; ~204 total!!!
Skippy roadside warning signs: 7 this leg, 104 total
Koala count: 0 this leg; 34 total
One Way bridges: 0 today; 19 total
Speeding Tickets: 0 today; 1 total
Hotels: Highbank Cottage; ideal location right in the middle of a vineyard!!
Food: Ottela and Fodder: wood fired pizza, great toppings, ok crust; loved the wines
Hillock: the best lunch yet!!!!
Kathy: duck breast; herbed spaetzle; braised red cabbage; jus
John: lamb rump ; white bean puree; roasted fennel; kale; shiraz jus*
Split an entrèe: cauliflower soufflé; mushroom; spinach; hazelnut salad
Dessert: chocolate brownie; kahlua mascarpone cream; house made ice cream
Wine: 2013 Shiraz…..the flavors literally exploded at the back half of the tasting…yummers!!!

LIG!!!! Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon