Exploring locally (SA and TAS) for a change!

[Milboo]

A brief trip report to share some great finds from 2 back to back local trips.

After it all got too hard to plan an overseas trip in the time available, I decided to holiday at home - first trip was a long weekend in the Barossa with girlfriends to celebrate a birthday, followed up by a few days in Tassie to check it out.

DAY ONE

A very uneventful flight from SYD - ADL on Thursday afternoon had us arriving early evening. Picked up a rental car (Audi Q5 - thanks Hertz - great service from them). Stayed at the Hilton - rooms were standard fare, lounge was average and breakfast (free for Diamond) was the usual hotel buffet but did the job.

My gripe...why do they still charge extra for 'proper' coffee. Just include it and be done with it!

We headed out to Apothecary for dinner - it was very quiet diner wise but the food was lovely and I'd recommend it.

DAY TWO

We made a visit to the Adelaide Central Market after breakfast - stocking up on some delicious cheeses, coffee beans and fresh fruit.

Afterwards we headed out of the city over the Adelaide Hills taking the scenic route, meandering through the small towns and countryside, stopping at Loebethal Bakery for old school pies for lunch. Also stopped in at Melbas Sweets.

The find though was Applewood Distillery (which also has wines). We did a gin flight and a wine tasting too and then had a tour behind the scenes and saw the distilling process and operations. We were looked after by Kat and she was awesome - super knowledgeable and really made the experience.

We stopped at Jacobs Creek later and to be honest it was average at best (and that is being very generous). Admittedly it was later in the day but they had 1 attendant for up to 4 groups so we waited a long time between pours. The girl looking after us was nice but it was perfunctionary service - info was from a fact sheet (it seemed and a disconnect with the actual wine making process). Very commercial operation.

Continued on to Tanunda where we would be staying.

Highly recommend Bilyara House - situated just off the main street, it is newly renovated, stylish and comfortable. There was a gorgeous bounty of food left for us too for breakfast.

Dinner that night was at FermentAsian. Everyone says it is a must visit when in the Barossa and I'd echo this. Betel leaves so good we went back for seconds, the best massman (with wagyu) I think I've had, pork belly, black sticky rice with caramelised banana....so so so good! Their wine list is a massive bible too.

Tip here is to ask Grant for his recommendations on wine makers to visit - you will come away with a list of names and numbers.

 

[Milboo]

DAY THREE

A very comfortable nights sleep was necessary for a busy day!

We started the day at the Barossa Farmers Market. To be honest, it was worth the visit but a bit same samey - dried fruits, jams, pastries and meat products multiple times over. We did pick up some amazing pork sausages and had breakfast there. The Eleni bakery stall is highly recommended.

Then it was on to the winery list. One of the earlier ones was Penfolds and we were thinking it would be like JCreek and it could so easily have been but the girl looking after us was awesome. We spent ages there tasting and talking about food, getting recommendations and getting to sample the ports like The Great Grandfather etc

From there we popped around the corner of the building to The Stillery which is brand new. Focused a lot on gin including two of their own, which can be purchased and a decent selection of local, AU and global gins for tasting. It has been set up by a couple who are normally seen at Rockford.

We also hit up Rockford, Grant Burge and then two small wine makers, Marco Cirillo and Brett Grocke (Epersosa).

It was then a very fast dash up the hill to the Steingarten look out for the sunset! We pulled up on the exact minute listed for sunset - we cut it that fine! We were rewarded with a phenomenal sunset.

Dinner was a selection of cheeses, sausage and accompaniments.

 

[Milboo]

DAY FOUR

Started the day with coffee from Darling (something) on Main St - good coffee and yummy muffins.

Then it was back to wines - this time it was Riesling Freak in Tanunda and to Standish Wines - Dan was fantastic there.

Finally winery visits were over - there is a limit!

We went across to Hentley Farm for lunch - having their 4 course Chefs Menu, which included a number of snacks too! Like oysters, quail eggs, soy roasted almonds, pumpkin tart etc. food was fantastic and the view from the Atrium area of the restaurant was gorgeous.

We rolled out of here and headed back to Adelaide, the weekend at an end!

But onwards to Hobart...

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>

Then it was on to the winery list. One of the earlier ones was Penfolds and we were thinking it would be like JCreek and it could so easily have been but the girl looking after us was awesome. We spent ages there tasting and talking about food, getting recommendations and getting to sample the ports like The Great Grandfather etc

From there we popped around the corner of the building to The Stillery which is brand new. Focused a lot on gin including two of their own, which can be purchased and a decent selection of local, AU and global gins for tasting. It has been set up by a couple who are normally seen at Rockford.

We also hit up Rockford, Grant Burge and then two small wine makers, Marco Cirillo and Brett Grocke (Epersosa).

<snip>.

If you like local gin, I can't wait till you get to Tas . What were Cirillo and Grocke like for visiting/tasting?

 

[Milboo]

I've been having issues uploading photos so haven't finished this off yet.

Ah Tasmania gin...I drank a fair bit of it and embraced the idea I was on holiday and thus a drink at lounge was always in order!

Cirillo - great guy to chat with and learn about his wine. He has the oldest Shiraz vines in the Barossa apparently. My friend has caught up with him a few times so a more personal experience. There is no fancy tasting room etc - barrel top in the working area but it made for a more enjoyable time.

Esperosa - he has a great cellar door - but again, a bench in it vs the slick operation. But you're talking to the wine maker himself. He also has a lovely dog!

Friends bought multiple bottles from each - alas I don't drink red wine!

 

[RooFlyer]

Cirillo - great guy to chat with and learn about his wine. He has the oldest Shiraz vines in the Barossa apparently. My friend has caught up with him a few times so a more personal experience. There is no fancy tasting room etc - barrel top in the working area but it made for a more enjoyable time.

Esperosa - he has a great cellar door - but again, a bench in it vs the slick operation. But you're talking to the wine maker himself. He also has a lovely dog!

That's exactly what a lot of the Tas cellar door experience was like 10 years ago. You'd drive up, the guy would see you coming and drive the tractor to the tasting shed and a generous taste would then follow! I hope buzzard is following this!