South Australia, AU
We didn’t plan on spending too much time here, however the Beast had other plans. Upside, we got to see a zombie parade and ride the cross-Australia train. Downside, it’s hard to go wine tasting when your wheels decide it’s time for retirement in mid-trip. And led us to get creative in our transportation options
However even with the limited exploration range and curtailed time frame, SA did surprisingly well. (to be fair, we had the inside scoop)
Cooper’s
Type: Brewery
Rating: 2.5 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.coopers.com.au/
Notes: When between bare-chested ascents of mountains actually named “avalanche” and skiing through hurricanes, this is our friend Dan’s go-to Australian beer. We’ll agree; it’s a decent beer that we’d order when in Australia and would not object if you ordered anywhere else in the world. Brown ale with not a lot of bite. The sparkling ale isn’t horrid and it isn’t as good as the original.
Bookmark
Type: Port
Rating: 3 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.angove.com.au/wines/11/bookmark/tawny/
Notes: For an Australian port, this stuff was a massive value! Good, solid bottle of port at a low price compared to the competition.
Hardy’s Merlot
Type: Wine
Rating: 2 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-62673-0001-hardys-merlot-australia
Notes: Ever been to Trader Joes? This stuff is a little better than 2 buck chuck. So it’s a basic table wine.
Banrock Station
Type: Wine
Rating: 4 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.banrockstation.com.au/content/pink-moscato
Notes: Tiffany’s exact words on the pink moscato were, “rocks. Absolutely awesome.”
Poet’s Corner
Type: Wine
Rating: 3 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.webcellars.com.au/poets-corner-merlot-750ml-case-of-6-p2896.html
Notes: It’s a cheap table wine Merlot and for what it is, it’s quite good. We actually found this while working up at the ski resort and it quickly replaced our other available options as the drink of choice after a busy day.
Jacob’s Creek
Type: wine
Rating: 2 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.jacobscreek.com
Notes: Moscato rose was decent, but not overly memorable.
Rymill Winery
Type: Winery
Rating: 4 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.rymill.com.au/
Notes: Really good, excellent. Everything we tasted was drinkable, smooth and well balanced without excessive tannins or acidity – even the young stuff. The pinot noir/merlot/cabernet franc blended sparkling wine (we know right!?) sounded weird and according to Greg “was one of the better champagnes I’ve had in my entire life.” The aged reds really shined, especially the 2000 cab sav & Shiraz. Late harvest desert wine was solid, just not the best we’ve ever had Ask for Andrew, that dude was awesome!
Kidman winery
Type: Winery
Rating: 2 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://kidmanwines.com.au/
Notes: It’s a smaller family owned vineyard and they weren’t swinging for the fences but they had a unique aspect that might make it worth your while to swing by should you be in this part of the country. The wines have a slightly minty, menthol-y, eucalyptus-y aspect to them that made them interesting. We are told that this is due to the fact that the vineyard is right on top of a lot of eucalyptus trees. This might be total tourist trap BS because a lot of coastal land in this country is covered in those trees but it made for an interesting tasting.
Paxton Wines
Type: Winery
Rating: 4 sheets to the wind
Contact: http://www.paxtonvineyards.com/
Notes: We have to give these guys credit, Tiffany, Greg and Chris agreed that their chardonnay was actually good and this is coming from three people who as a rule of thumb hate chardonnay. As Chris put it is “the only chard I’ve ever liked.” While their reds were overall pretty tasty; light, refreshing whites were really where this place shined. This winery played perfectly to our love of wines designed to be had in warm weather and they also had a nice lawn:
Hi Tif, we loved Oz too–but have you been to Turkey?
Not yet, but we want to go!