Valley of Gods - Barossa
They say that Wine is the drink of Gods, doesn't that make Barossa Valley the Valley of Gods?
This heavenly place is situated about 50 kilometres North of Adelaide. The drive is beautiful considering the lovely landscapes Australia is blessed with. But, the drive is forgotten once you enter the realms of Barossa. Her arms lay open beckoning you to enter her and explore her to your heart's content.
The 50-odd vineyards have their own cellars and wine-tasting centres, each one exhibiting its own beauty. I got to visit a few of the famous Winemakers who supply red and white wine to the whole world, and I was surprised how much knowledge was needed in this field. Ironically, all I knew about wine was that it was made of grapes. Little did I know how much was involved in making the wine to suit the taste buds of different corners of the world.
The first vineyard that we visited was the Grant Burge. When the men were busy tasting their wines and making decisions whether or not to buy, we women were busy exploring the place. They had a beautiful park with a lovely fountain and a canopy with creepers of grapes hanging from above. The grapes were small, but tasted sweet. We took a couple of snaps and moved to the next vineyard.
The second on the agenda was Bethany. This was located atop a tiny hill. It seemed like a family of winemakers and wasn't too big. We didn't have much to see or do here. After that we headed to Chateau Tanunda which was in the place called Tanunda in Barossa Valley. This place was architecturally beautiful. The entrance made me feel like I was entering paradise through a few stairs, that led me to a lawn made for the game croquet surrounded by huge red roses staring up from their stems. Apparently roses grow well where grapes grow and hence the whole of Barossa had roses in all colors and shapes.
We wanted to try our hand at Croquet, which is a game close to golf, so we borrowed the clubs and balls from the people inside and played it for awhile. The game was quite interesting and required a lot of concentration. After a game, the men were more anxious to accomplish what they had come there for. While they were tasting the wine, we women were emptying the bowl of biscuits which was supposedly to be had alongwith the wine. The lady behind the counter was very patient and opened about 20 bottles and explained each of their speciality, the grapes they were made from, their year of picking, the particular kind of food each wine would go with etc. I was amazed by the details and realised how much attention was given to the process. Phew! If only I could make my own wine at some point.
By this time we were all so hungry and were ready to stop at the nearest restaurant for any sort of food. Luckily for me (and a few others), there was a Pizza takeway called Avanti close to Chateau Tanunda. The Pizza there was one among the best that I have ever had (considering I am a Pizza-lover). After the heavy pizza, we went to Penfolds Wines. This looked like a posh winemaker. As usual, the men were busy tasting all the expensive wines and we women were chatting away with what little we knew about wine and wine-making. After that we went to this place where they were having helicopter rides to give an aerial view of Barossa Valley. Although they charged $20 for a 5 minute ride, it was well worth it. The beauty from above was breathtaking and I didn't realise when I entered the helicopter and when I got out of it. The straight lines that the grapes were planted looked more perfect from above.
After experiencing the enchanting beauty of Barossa Valley, it was time to go back home. I had gathered a little bit knowledge about the different types of grapes and the wines they formed such as - Shiraz, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon etc. I also got to know that a few other citrus fruits were involved in winemaking alongwith oak. The taste of the wine widely depended upon the year of its picking and how much the grapes had matured. It was a common observation that men preferred red wine while the women preferred the white, I am not sure what the reason could be. The next time I had ordinary grapes, I started wondering what wine it would have become if it were not to be on my plate!
This heavenly place is situated about 50 kilometres North of Adelaide. The drive is beautiful considering the lovely landscapes Australia is blessed with. But, the drive is forgotten once you enter the realms of Barossa. Her arms lay open beckoning you to enter her and explore her to your heart's content.
The 50-odd vineyards have their own cellars and wine-tasting centres, each one exhibiting its own beauty. I got to visit a few of the famous Winemakers who supply red and white wine to the whole world, and I was surprised how much knowledge was needed in this field. Ironically, all I knew about wine was that it was made of grapes. Little did I know how much was involved in making the wine to suit the taste buds of different corners of the world.
The first vineyard that we visited was the Grant Burge. When the men were busy tasting their wines and making decisions whether or not to buy, we women were busy exploring the place. They had a beautiful park with a lovely fountain and a canopy with creepers of grapes hanging from above. The grapes were small, but tasted sweet. We took a couple of snaps and moved to the next vineyard.
The second on the agenda was Bethany. This was located atop a tiny hill. It seemed like a family of winemakers and wasn't too big. We didn't have much to see or do here. After that we headed to Chateau Tanunda which was in the place called Tanunda in Barossa Valley. This place was architecturally beautiful. The entrance made me feel like I was entering paradise through a few stairs, that led me to a lawn made for the game croquet surrounded by huge red roses staring up from their stems. Apparently roses grow well where grapes grow and hence the whole of Barossa had roses in all colors and shapes.
We wanted to try our hand at Croquet, which is a game close to golf, so we borrowed the clubs and balls from the people inside and played it for awhile. The game was quite interesting and required a lot of concentration. After a game, the men were more anxious to accomplish what they had come there for. While they were tasting the wine, we women were emptying the bowl of biscuits which was supposedly to be had alongwith the wine. The lady behind the counter was very patient and opened about 20 bottles and explained each of their speciality, the grapes they were made from, their year of picking, the particular kind of food each wine would go with etc. I was amazed by the details and realised how much attention was given to the process. Phew! If only I could make my own wine at some point.
By this time we were all so hungry and were ready to stop at the nearest restaurant for any sort of food. Luckily for me (and a few others), there was a Pizza takeway called Avanti close to Chateau Tanunda. The Pizza there was one among the best that I have ever had (considering I am a Pizza-lover). After the heavy pizza, we went to Penfolds Wines. This looked like a posh winemaker. As usual, the men were busy tasting all the expensive wines and we women were chatting away with what little we knew about wine and wine-making. After that we went to this place where they were having helicopter rides to give an aerial view of Barossa Valley. Although they charged $20 for a 5 minute ride, it was well worth it. The beauty from above was breathtaking and I didn't realise when I entered the helicopter and when I got out of it. The straight lines that the grapes were planted looked more perfect from above.
After experiencing the enchanting beauty of Barossa Valley, it was time to go back home. I had gathered a little bit knowledge about the different types of grapes and the wines they formed such as - Shiraz, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon etc. I also got to know that a few other citrus fruits were involved in winemaking alongwith oak. The taste of the wine widely depended upon the year of its picking and how much the grapes had matured. It was a common observation that men preferred red wine while the women preferred the white, I am not sure what the reason could be. The next time I had ordinary grapes, I started wondering what wine it would have become if it were not to be on my plate!
posted by Ace of Space at
5/10/2005 05:07:00 PM
1 Comments:
Some say Wine lives even when it is bottled or cellar'd for years and behaves differently when opened in different days as in the same wine tastes diffferent opened tommorrow, compared to being opened a year later. 'Oxidising' is the word comes to my mind when u talk about red paricularly ;-)
I feel each grape has something to say everyday, if you really care you should listen to it.
By
Anonymous, at 5/17/2005 5:48 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home