McLaren Vale

McLaren Vale is one of South Australia's top wine producing regions. It is known for producing top notch Rhone varietals, particularly Grenache, which had me very excited! We arrived at Ryecroft Winery where we did our first tasting of the day with 8 different Rosemount wines. Then we had to put on hard hats and orange vests to do a tour of the winery.  It was really interesting getting to see all of the behind-the-scenes activities that unfold throughout a typical day at the winery, and the staff that worked with us were all very knowledgeable about their wines/winemaking process. 

Next stop was Chapel Hill Winery, which had some gorgeous scenery and great views. After getting a winery tour from the winemakers we were able to enjoy some of their amazing wine with our picnic lunch.  It was the perfect afternoon: good wine, friends,  food and sun!

                                                               Rosemount Tasting

Chapel Hill Winery

Then we stopped by Molly Dooker, which became the highlight of our day! We broke up into groups and took an extensive tour of the vineyards and winery. The staff was really accommodating and even let us try some of their best wines, including the Velvet Glove Shiraz (which runs around $200 in the U.S.) They let us take home the extra bottles, which will make great souvenirs with their fun labels.

Molly Dooker Tasting

We finished the day off at the beautiful vineyards of Coriole. We tasted some lovely wines in there barrel room and then headed back on the bus to Adelaide. It was a great trip!

Classes

We should probably fill you in on the classes that we are taking here in Adelaide so we can update you with interesting info:
  1. Sensory Analysis (wine tasting)
  2. Special Topics (learning about Australia's wine industry)
  3. Wine and Religion (we'll have to see where that goes...)
  4. Religions of Asia (although we probably won't update you on this)

First Day of Class

Met at the Wine Center of Australia...this place is AWESOME!

...did you know South Australia is responsible for 60 % of Australia's wine? Or that Australia has a 1.6 billion export market?? Just thought we'd throw some fun facts your way...

We're Here!

We are just getting settled into our apartment in Adelaide, and finally have some free time to blog a bit about our trip.  Spending New Years in Sydney was a once in a lifetime experience and was totally worth it! I have never seen such an extravagant fireworks show.  Even though it may seem uncomfortably tight, squeezing in with over 20,000 people to watch the fireworks on the harbor was actually quite fun.  It made the event more exciting and was a great way to meet new people.  We also got a chance to visit Bronte and Bondi beach which was amazing! Definitely worth seeing for whoever makes it out to Sydney.

We arrived in Adelaide yesterday to our hostel for the night and it was completely deserted...guess everyone likes to sit inside for the holidays?  The only thing we saw nearby were a few tumbleweeds and a naked man.. but I guess that's how it goes sometimes.  We were also welcomed with some of the hottest weather the state has seen in ten years! About 102 degrees during the day...who knew it would be so hot! Other than that, we just got all moved in to our apartments and are ready to hit the beaches!

Oh...and note to all student travelers.. pack LIGHT because they really get you with those hidden baggage fees no one told us about flying from Sydney to Adelaide. There goes that bottle of Penfolds Grange we wanted to buy...