Category Archives: Wine

An ode to my grandfather – Soldier Settler Vineyard

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I posted recently about my natural mother and her struggle with dementia. I mentioned in that post that I was privileged to have wonderful adoptive parents; however, in that post, I did not mention my grandparents, who on my father’s side were truly the kindest and most generous people you could ever wish to meet. As grandparents ourselves, their example is one we can only hope to match as to surpass them would be impossible.

My grandfather, who to this day remains the person I most admire,  was a World War 1 veteran, who took the opportunity to be part of the soldier settler scheme in the Riverland of South Australia. It was a vexed scheme with stories of true hardship and few of success. I am pleased to say my grandfather’s was one of moderate success. In part, I am sure, his pre-war education at Wagga Agricultural School was the major reason for this. Continue reading →

A few days in the Coonawarra – Day two wine tastings and lunch

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This post follows on from A few days in the Coonawarra – Day one tastings and lunch

Eric’s Shed, the old tasting room – Brands Laira

We decided that a reward for looking after our grandchildren would be a second day’s wine tasting and lunch.

So after farewelling our daughter and family it was into the car for the 30 minute or so drive back to Penola. We made a quick stop to pick up a takeaway coffee from Bricks and Mortar which over our short stay in Mt Gambier had become a favourite.

Our second day in the Coonawarra was again with Coonawarra Experiences. When we arrived, Simon was there to greet us.  He had put our first day’s purchases in our apartment and with that, we were ready to start the day.

Our Sunday tastings were arranged to be a little less hectic than our first day to allow us to recharge from the couple of days looking after our wonderful grandchildren.

Our first stop was at Patrick’s , a second generation family winery whose grapes are sourced from within the Coonawarra and the nearby Wrattonbully region.  Continue reading →

A few days in the Coonawarra – Day one tastings and lunch

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Our apartment in Penola

This post follows on from A few days in the Coonawarra – getting there 

Our day started with a check of the weather. 

Despite it being the middle of Summer, it seemed the weather was going to be mild, so I was glad I’d packed for both hot and mild weather. With a decision on suitable attire for the day made, the next decision was where in Penola would we find the best coffee?

Penola offered 2 choices for coffee as well as 2 bakeries. We chose Moss and Wild, which was on the list of recommendations from our tour host. The coffee was excellent; however, the food choices were toasties or baked goods, which didn’t fit our needs. They did, however, look tasty. 

With a coffee under our belts, we headed back to our apartment and met Simon, the co-owner of  Coonawarra Experiences. Consistent with our earlier dealings in arranging our tour Simon was ready to answer all our questions, including a last-minute request to visit Penley Estate.

Unfortunately, Penley closed their tasting room during Covid and not reopened it. It seemed I would have to settle with a purchase of a couple of bottles of their Cab Sav from the Royal Oak Hotel. Penley is the family wine business of the Tolley sisters, a famous South Australian wine family. I’d been a fan of their wines for a while, so I was disappointed that we couldn’t make a visit. Penley offers a range of traditional varieties made in a contemporary style.

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A few days in the Coonawarra – getting there

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Our daughter’s involvement in a wedding in the South East of South Australia and our offer to look after her children while she and her husband were at the wedding and surrounding events gave us just the excuse to visit The Coonawarra, one of Australia’s most famous wine regions. In my case, it had been about a decade since I had visited and, for my favourite person, much longer.

The Coonawarra is about 400kms from Adelaide, making it about a 4 hour 30 trip assuming a short break somewhere like Tintinarra or Keith.

Tintinara

The road to Keith is well travelled as it’s the main highway to Melbourne, and just short of Keith, there is a turn-off for the Riddoch Highway that took us through Padthaway past Naracoorte and onto our destination of Penola in the heart of The Coonawarra.

The Coonawarra is a designated wine region that was hard fought for in the late 1990s, finally getting its own designation in 2003 as part of the Limestone Coast Region. There are just over 20 wineries in the region. It is a mix of the big corporates such as Penfolds, Treasury (owner of Wynns) and large family wine companies such as Casella (owner of Brands Laira) and Yalumba, along with smaller concerns such as Whistle Stop and Raidis.

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The Barossa Valley

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Dusk in the Barossa Valley

With all the panic about Coronavirus we were glad we decided not to venture far for our 40th Wedding Anniversary. While we still have wonderful memories of the awesome Grand Tour we had embarked upon for our 30th Wedding Anniversary, ten years on we were much less adventurous.

Rather than travelling thousands of kilometres to the other side of the world we travelled less than 100 kms for a lavish few days in the nearby Barossa Valley.

The Barossa Valley just an 80 minute drive for Adelaide is probably Australia’s best known wine region.

We decided to stay at The Louise, a luxury resort for two nights. The resort is nestled in the vineyards and has about 40 rooms. We stayed in the mid-priced (still quite pricey) room. The views over the vineyards from our room and the restaurant were delightful.

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