Ow ya goin' mayte? by Bryan Cass

I spent a year and a half living in Australia going to grad school, and got to do a lot of winetasting while I was there!  The first six months I was right next to the wine region of the McLaren Vale.

The McLaren Vale area produces a multitude of delicious wines and has a great wine festival every year called the "Sea and Vines" wine fest as it is only a few miles from the Southern Ocean.  This wine festival is similar to any festival weekend you find here in the states but you replace the tri-tip with snags (sausages), the Syrah with Shiraz, the deer with kangaroos, and the oak trees with eucalypts!  One of the wineries we visited whose wine is widely available in the United States at a reasonable price is D'arenburg.  They make some great wines and would recommend picking up a bottle the next time you are in the Australia section of the wine shop.  Their winemaker Chester Osborn is quite a character and a bit of a winemaker celebrity down there.

Can you spot the Kanga?

The Barossa Valley is a more arid wine region in South Australia that is known for big reds, especially Shiraz.  Our winemaker at Cass, spent a vintage making wine at Grant Burge in the Barossa while I was there.

This is Coriole Winery in the McLaren Vale where you get to pour your own tatstes!

The Clare Valley

Getting to the Barossa is a two hour drive north of Adelaide, South Australia's capital city.  If you venture another hour further north you get to the Clare Valley, which is slightly cooler and known for producing world class Riesling.  They even have a bike trail connecting tasting rooms called the "Riesling Trail".  I never had the chance to, but it would be a great way to spend a day winetasting.

Yet another large wine region a stone's throw from Adelaide, is the Adelaide Hills.  This area is quite cool for Australian standards and prodcues cool-climate wines like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.  Aside from these regions there are quite a few others including the Coonawarra, Padthaway, Mt. Benson, amongst others.  Go visit Australia if you ever get a chance and instead of going to the Great Barrier Reef or Sydney, go to Adelaide and do some winetasting, you will not regret it!

There are some very contemporary tasting rooms....

Some that are a bit more rustic...

Double decker bus tasting anyone?

Australia has a rich winemaking history, Penfold's Winery in the Barossa  Valley

Don't forget to throw away your "pip"