Brothers in Arms (Barossa Valley)

Apparently there is a thing over here dear reader called sunrise over the vines. Jayne is uncertain about sunrise and thinks it might be fake news, because whenever she sees the sun it is high in the sky. I had intended to do the sunrise over the vines thing to prove her wrong, but sadly our unit is not well positioned for such pursuits. Therefore, you'll have to enjoy a photo taken by someone else (cheers Chris).

Sunrise over the vines.

The Barossa stay was meant to be a time to slow down and enjoy the area. Today we set the lofty target of two wineries and a late lunch. I am pleased to report, dear reader that we nailed our brief, although not in the time frame we thought. We were out of the apartment before 10:30am and were in Tanunda for coffee pre wine tasting.

Nosh was a deceptively large café. It's on Murray Street and is in the old mill building. A simple doorway gives way to a series of tabled spaces (rooms of the original house), all of which were occupied with people enjoying the fare. The end space was larger again with more tables, all occupied, and a counter and fridge cabinet, filled with delectable treats. Bravely we passed up the pastries and opted for a couple of long blacks to be enjoyed on the street in the sunshine. Yes, my Sydney friends, in the sunshine.

What? You expected a caption?

The breeze was a little challenging at times, but otherwise it was quite pleasant. Even amusing, as a dad on a blade scooter, showing off to his kids, came a cropper on a driveway across the road, and was sent humiliatingly to the ground. Smile. Smirk.

Caffeine craving sated we walked the short distance to the Brothers at War tasting rooms. Also in Murray Street, although their winemaking facility is in Lyndoch, 15 minutes down the road. Hence today's title, an offering by Dire Straits from 1985. I'm not a huge Dire Straits fan but the song seemed to balance the name of the winery. 

Not originally on our list of wineries to visit, we needed to replace Standish Wines because they had already exhausted their stock and had nothing to sell. Sometimes you just luck things and have an awesome experience, other times things fall flat. Today was the former, it will go down as one of our gold wine tasting experiences. Given we started visiting wineries in 1979 and can count one hand the number of golden moments you can be guaranteed dear reader that this place is worth stopping by.

We walked in just after 11am and left at 2pm. We tasted some excellent wines, I joined the wine club (I know, I know), and spent time talking with Lee and Sanna. Both are former Sydney people and Lee spent years living around the corner from us in Erskineville. He knows our favorite French Bistrot owner. We talked Sydney, we talked wine, we talked holiday experiences, we talked and every now and then we tasted their magnificent wines and discussed them and their creation. We also talked about the Bunnies, Sanna is a long time supporter (current Bunnies sticker on the cellar laptop). 

To quote from the book The Wine Producers A Taste of the Barossa, "The brothers take their wine seriously, but at the end of the day, it's about conviviality and connection." They certainly got that right. All in all, one of those golden afternoons of wine tasting that you experience from time to time and long remember.

We were due at our second wine tasting at 12:30pm. I phoned to let them know we would be coming but couldn't put a time on it. Emma was most gracious. At 2:30pm we opened the door to the tasting room and apologised for our tardiness. Kaesler, another winery suggested by our wine man at United Cellars, had some very curiously named wines: Bogan and Old Bastard amongst them. They also had the only Semillon we've seen so far and a rare straight Viognier. Another winning moment. Wine ordered for dispatch home, we walked to the car for the 500 metre drive to the pizza place.

Bought a bottle to share with a friend

Now dear reader, I would be one of the first people to accept that 4pm is an unusual time to be arriving at a pizza place for a meal. Is it lunch? Is it dinner? Well, for us it is both. The young women who showed us to our table was most helpful and re-appeared shortly to take our order. The pizzas at Ember, situated in the Penfolds complex in Nuriootpa, have a fermented sourdough base, and a good range of toppings. They also offer some interesting entrées. They are well worth a visit for the pizza alone.

While the pizzas were very good, the service was a little, um, disinterested. We must have arrived at the changeover of shift because the person who showed us to the table was nowhere in sight when we wanted to box our leftovers. And no-one else seemed particularly interested in us at all. Jayne, taking control, lifted our plate of uneaten pizza and delivered it to the counter herself. At which time the girl behind the register retrieved a box and handed it to me to sort out the rest. Talk about great service. We did - all the way home because that was the antithesis of great service. A pity really, the pizzas were great.

Lunch/dinner completed, leftover pizza boxed, we turned toward the Barossa Resort and our balcony.

And how to cap off an excellent day? The Bunnies smashed arch rivals Easts, Buddy Franklin kicked his 1,000 goal as the Swans put the sword to Geelong and the Australian Men's Cricket Team won the match and series in Pakistan.

Until tomorrow.