Australia Day!!

Ok, so this is a little late, BUT I had to make sure we put it in here, because it was SO fun!  Some students in the program left for Melbourne for our 4-day weekend, but for those of us that stayed here, we had just as much fun!!

During the day we went to one of the huge cricket matches against India.  While cricket might possibly be one of the most boring sports out there, it was awesome to see!  The game itself goes for 5 DAYS, but of course one was enough for us.  All the Australian's get really into the game and the atmosphere is crazy!

A lot of people also went to the Glenelg for the day to have fun at the beach, which I heard was a blast.  I would for sure recommend going to a cricket game, though if you get the chance.  You really feel like your in Australia, with all the pride around the place.  

At night a group of us headed out to the river across the street from us.  They were having an Aussie Day celebration there with live music and fireworks.  

The Barossa!

So we decided to pay the 65 bucks and go on a guided tour of the Barossa...and it was totally worth it!

The Barossa Valley is actually one of the most visited regions in Australia.  Started up in the 1840's by German settlers...and now responsible for 9% of Australia's wine industry. The wine styles are pretty diverse in this region, but the most popular varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon (over 20% of all the red grown here), Grenache, Semillon, and Shiraz (responsible for > 40% of ALL grapes grown here!).

We were picked up at 8:30 in the morning right out front of UniLodge (a really good selling point...figuring out transportation here can be a mess).  Our driver, who also owns the business (Barossa Valley Scenic Wine Tour, in case anyone wants to do it in the future) was super nice and knew a lot about the area.  The first place he took us to was Chateau Tanunda.  this place is AMAZING. the grounds are gorgeous, the building has amazing history, and most importantly, the wines are delicious.  Their 2010 Shiraz was one of the best I've tasted here.  It's no wonder they have won awards for their wine.  Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we ran into the winemaker Ross who poured us his own label Grapes of Ross.  He was awesome! His wines were outstanding, and I have to say, I even really enjoyed his rose.  We wanted to talk to him longer, but the bus driver made us load back on the bus so that we could make it to our second winery.

Seppeltsfield, famous for their fortified wines (sherry and ports), was our next stop.  The tasting room that we were in was actually restored from the original wine-making room back in 1851.  A lot of what we drank here wasn't exactly my favorite, since I'm not a huge port fan, but it was definitely fun to taste what so many people love.   They also have a 100-year-old Para Liqueur Port that they release every year that we got to try.  I don't know how they don't cheat and try it out before the 100 years are up, but regardless, it was an awesome experience.

Yalumba was our last winery for the day.  Yalumba is a family owned winery and also the 12th largest wine company in Australia.  I have to admit, we got a little distracted from tasting by looking around the BEAUTIFUL grounds.  If you ever go to the Barossa, go here.  The wine is good too!  They poured us a lot of different wines too...

The rest of the day included stopping for lunch, visiting a cheese and chocolate factory, and walking around the streets of Handorf.  I would highly recommend that you take a wine tour like this if you ever come to south Adelaide! it was so much fun, and an awesome experience to taste some of the more popular wines of Australia.