Tuesday
13Jan2009
The Barossa Valley: Take Two
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 9:09AM
I thought I'd blog about the incredibly relaxing mini-break Fi and I had last week.
Having gone to bed really late following my ENT interview and finding out that I had the job, I couldn't have been more grateful for a break!
Fi drove on us up to the Barossa on Thursday and we arrived at around 13:00. The Barossa Valley is one of Australia's most famous wine regions (highly regarded for it's Shiraz vines) and is a popular middle-class, non-beach holiday destination.
We stopped for lunch at the well known Maggie Beer's just outside Nuriootpa (she's sort of an Australia Delia Smith) and had a delicious pheasant terrine (think posh pie) with a small glass of Shiraz. The weather was gorgeous so we ate outside by the lake. There happened to be a peacock wandering around the grounds that was incredibly tame and I managed to take this nice shot:
After lunch we drove the short distance to the boutique B&B we were staying at in Angaston. The B&B consisted of two suites, a pool and spa and the owners (Pete and Irene) lived upstairs. The décor was a little dated but the attention to detail was wonderful.
Oh, I should also mention that we stopped off at Rockfords to sample some wine. We picked up a couple of bottles of their tasty rosé.
From the B&B, we wandered into Angaston and had a coffee (which was absolutely delicious) at Blond Coffee (another champion Anit suggestion). We went and played on the playground and took a few pictures before showing our age and having a little nanna-nap.
For dinner we ate a a pizza place called Roaring 40's. It has consistently won awards for it's pizzas and I have to admit that they are very good and really well priced.
We ended up going to bed Thursday night ridiculously early. That's not always a bad tying though...
Friday morning we got up around 09:00 and were greeted by a continental breakfast left outside in our breakfast nook along with an Esky chilling some fresh juice - thanks Irene!
After another delightful coffee at Blond Coffee we cycled to Seppeltsfield winery. We had picked up a little bag of cheeses, some crackers, a cutting board and a knife from Angaston in a cheese & wine tasting pack but became rapidly embarrassed making ourself cheese crackers to have with the wine at the cellar door so Seppeltsfield was the only winery to get this treatment. The winery is one of the oldest in South Australia and is well known for it's fortified wines. I managed to snap this shot of some original fortifying barrels outside the cellar door:
Seppeltsfield was at the bottom of a mighty hill so we had the fun of cycling back up it after some wine tasting. Halfway up the hill we stopped to take some pictures of the vines and of the Seppeltsfield mausoleum which was very pretty. We pushed on the heat and stopped at Two Hands winery which we both thought was fantastic. We tasted all of their wines (they are self-proclaimed Shiraz experts) and although the tasting sizes were small we were able to try not just their $100 bottle of wine but their famous $165 2006 Ares Shiraz. Although it was nice - I preferred their $45 'Bad Impersonator' Shiraz. Just goes to show how defined my palate is I guess...
We grabbed a burger, some tasty fries (and some water!) in Nuriootpa at a place called The Branch. I thought the food was good but the service wasn't great (there was a hair in Fi's food and they put tommy K on her burger!).
We headed back to Angaston and relaxed for the afternoon (since we had been cycling for two-and-a-half hours. We then got dressed up in our glad-rags and caught a taxi to Appellation (something we had been looking forwards to for ages). According to Gourmet Traveller, Appellation is the number one restaurant in regional South Australia and it certainly didn't let us down. We each had the tasting menu ($190 each) paired with wine and it was great. I especially enjoyed the roast breast of pigeon. They also served a delightful 2008 Milhinch 'Sieze The Day 'rosé to start us off with (I think it's Cabernet Sauvignon based). The service was flawless and the food was fabulous. It's not the best degustation experience I have ever had (that award is currently held by Melbourne's amazing Taxi restaurant) but it was close.
We both had to work Saturday (late shifts) but managed to have a little potter around the farmer's market just outside Angaston. Unfortunately (being so close to Christmas, etc) a lot of the vendors were still on holiday.
So that wraps up a lovely break away. Most relaxing.
Having gone to bed really late following my ENT interview and finding out that I had the job, I couldn't have been more grateful for a break!
Fi drove on us up to the Barossa on Thursday and we arrived at around 13:00. The Barossa Valley is one of Australia's most famous wine regions (highly regarded for it's Shiraz vines) and is a popular middle-class, non-beach holiday destination.
We stopped for lunch at the well known Maggie Beer's just outside Nuriootpa (she's sort of an Australia Delia Smith) and had a delicious pheasant terrine (think posh pie) with a small glass of Shiraz. The weather was gorgeous so we ate outside by the lake. There happened to be a peacock wandering around the grounds that was incredibly tame and I managed to take this nice shot:
After lunch we drove the short distance to the boutique B&B we were staying at in Angaston. The B&B consisted of two suites, a pool and spa and the owners (Pete and Irene) lived upstairs. The décor was a little dated but the attention to detail was wonderful.
Oh, I should also mention that we stopped off at Rockfords to sample some wine. We picked up a couple of bottles of their tasty rosé.
From the B&B, we wandered into Angaston and had a coffee (which was absolutely delicious) at Blond Coffee (another champion Anit suggestion). We went and played on the playground and took a few pictures before showing our age and having a little nanna-nap.
For dinner we ate a a pizza place called Roaring 40's. It has consistently won awards for it's pizzas and I have to admit that they are very good and really well priced.
We ended up going to bed Thursday night ridiculously early. That's not always a bad tying though...
Friday morning we got up around 09:00 and were greeted by a continental breakfast left outside in our breakfast nook along with an Esky chilling some fresh juice - thanks Irene!
After another delightful coffee at Blond Coffee we cycled to Seppeltsfield winery. We had picked up a little bag of cheeses, some crackers, a cutting board and a knife from Angaston in a cheese & wine tasting pack but became rapidly embarrassed making ourself cheese crackers to have with the wine at the cellar door so Seppeltsfield was the only winery to get this treatment. The winery is one of the oldest in South Australia and is well known for it's fortified wines. I managed to snap this shot of some original fortifying barrels outside the cellar door:
Seppeltsfield was at the bottom of a mighty hill so we had the fun of cycling back up it after some wine tasting. Halfway up the hill we stopped to take some pictures of the vines and of the Seppeltsfield mausoleum which was very pretty. We pushed on the heat and stopped at Two Hands winery which we both thought was fantastic. We tasted all of their wines (they are self-proclaimed Shiraz experts) and although the tasting sizes were small we were able to try not just their $100 bottle of wine but their famous $165 2006 Ares Shiraz. Although it was nice - I preferred their $45 'Bad Impersonator' Shiraz. Just goes to show how defined my palate is I guess...
We grabbed a burger, some tasty fries (and some water!) in Nuriootpa at a place called The Branch. I thought the food was good but the service wasn't great (there was a hair in Fi's food and they put tommy K on her burger!).
We headed back to Angaston and relaxed for the afternoon (since we had been cycling for two-and-a-half hours. We then got dressed up in our glad-rags and caught a taxi to Appellation (something we had been looking forwards to for ages). According to Gourmet Traveller, Appellation is the number one restaurant in regional South Australia and it certainly didn't let us down. We each had the tasting menu ($190 each) paired with wine and it was great. I especially enjoyed the roast breast of pigeon. They also served a delightful 2008 Milhinch 'Sieze The Day 'rosé to start us off with (I think it's Cabernet Sauvignon based). The service was flawless and the food was fabulous. It's not the best degustation experience I have ever had (that award is currently held by Melbourne's amazing Taxi restaurant) but it was close.
We both had to work Saturday (late shifts) but managed to have a little potter around the farmer's market just outside Angaston. Unfortunately (being so close to Christmas, etc) a lot of the vendors were still on holiday.
So that wraps up a lovely break away. Most relaxing.
Reader Comments (1)
Hi Garry! I have just read about your visit to the Barossa and was delighted to read that you enjoyed our Seize the Day (yes, it is a Cabernet) Rosé at Appellation restaurant.
Have a look at our website www.seizetheday.net.au to read the story behind our wines - I think you will find it interesting. As well as running our vineyard retreat accommodation, vineyard and wine business, I still work (part-time) as a Duty Nurse Co-ordinator at the Lyell McEwin hospital. It's a great life and people like yourself and Fi make it all worthwhile when we hear you have enjoyed our wine! We are just down the road from Appellation and are lucky to have such a great restaurant so close (5 minute drive) for our guests. We take guests to and from the restaurant as a part of what we do...then they can enjoy all those great wines!
Like alot of small producers we don't have a cellar door, but please give us a call and drop by if you are in the Barossa again!
Cheers
Sharyn