I saw the light (Barossa Valley)

Another day begins. It's very quiet here: not a siren to be heard, unlike home. Last night, the stars showed some promise before the cloud drifted in and spoiled the view - maybe tonight will be better. In a first for this trip, we actually switched on the TV last night to watch Micallef's Mad As Hell. I seriously rate that show and his razor sharp wit. Not sure if he thinks he has been axed by the powers that be, but he seems to have thrown caution to the wind in the last 3 weeks - or is it the slow climb to the crescendo of the forthcoming election? Either way, it cannot be missed.

Since we have a kitchenette, we thought we should make use of it and shopped for some breakfast and happy hour essentials yesterday afternoon. The first morning task (after wordle and quordle) was to wash up anything and everything we might use in the next four days. Then it was time for tea and toast before a winery visit. What did you really expect, dear reader? We are in the Barossa Valley.

As I have mentioned, our last visit to this area was over 40 years ago. While some things have stayed the same, one thing that hasn't is the number of wineries. There are far too many to visit and it is no simple task to discern which wineries are worthy of our hard earned cash. Probably they all are, to some degree, but we have little time and need to be selective. Our usual practice has been to have a local recommend a winery and visit it and ask them where they would go if they had limited time. In a departure from tradition, I emailed my Cellar Angel from United Cellars, Nestor, and asked which wineries he would visit. He provided a list of five, one of which has already sold out its stock of wine, so we will supplement with another.

Back in the day, we would easily cover four or five wineries a day, sometimes six. Sitting on the balcony, tapping away at the keys after sampling the wares of two vintners today, I wonder how we managed it. Our taste buds would have been traumatised by the day's end.

Palm trees line the roads

First stop today Seppeltsfield, a winery I would have not have chosen but I'm glad we visited. Navigating the Barossa roads is not difficult although it's not usual for a single named road to have a series of right angle bends and continue in a completely different direction. As we neared Seppeltsfield, we could see that the road is lined with date palms. Mature trees, both sides of the road. "There's obviously a story there," we remarked. Patience dear reader, we'll get to it.

Sorry, the sun was in the wrong spot

As we rounded one corner in the road, we were confronted with a massive stone building on the hill. It resembled a Greek temple. The stairway to the the door was also lined with palms. Espying a parking area, I pulled off the road much to Jayne's confusion, but there was no way I was driving past without stopping. It was, as I thought, a mausoleum, the Seppelt family mausoleum. It was built in 1927 and Joe, the patriarch was interred there in 1930. Apparently, in the afterlife, he wanted to be able to survey all he had built in this life. It is a truly excellent view over the whole area. Since then the mausoleum has become the resting place for all members of the Seppelt family.

Palm trees again

Seppeltsfield Winery was only a few minutes down the road and we arrived early enough to have a coffee. This was a good thing for many reasons, not the least of which was we had both cleaned our teeth as we walked out the door. That's a rookie error because every wine you taste early in the day is flavoured by the mint of the toothpaste. In fact, you don't really taste the wine at all. Now dear reader you would realise that we are not rookies and have enjoyed the occasional wine tasting over the years. Unforgivable really. As Jayne confessed her sin, I smiled and leaned forward and quietly said, "Me too."

The view from the mausoleum

Coffee done, we moved on to the wine tasting. COVID has changed many things in our world and it has certainly had an impact on how wineries operate. Many now only provide tastings if you've pre-booked, numbers are limited, the range of wines on offer is also pared back and there is a tasting charge - generally redeemable on the purchase of a couple of bottles. You will be astonished dear reader to know that never, ever, have I had to pay to taste wine. And today that record remains intact.

Another view from the mausoleum

The lovely Maddie talked us and walked us through the wines available for tasting. In keeping with the Barossa tradition she also wanted to know our names. We exceeded our allocated 45 minutes, no surprises there, and finished chatting with one of the other staffers as well. The wines were excellent and there will be a carton wending it's way back home very soon. Our discussions were wide ranging including Para port and the fact that we had tasted the 1930 vintage. While the port is still made, sadly the old bottle style no longer exists, the makers went out of business. The last vintage in the old bottle was 1992. They still have barrels and barrels of the wine but no bottles to put it in!

The palm trees? You'd thought I'd forgotten ... they were a part of an employment program during the Great Depression. A time where Liberal Governments didn't have huge stores of money to splash around to ensure re-election ... or to help people ... in times of flood, drought or bushfire. The Seppelt family looked after their workers by having them plant avenues of date palms. It is a curiously impressive sight. 

It was an excellent morning and it was very tempting to stay for lunch, but I was keen for some more basic fare and we asked for pub food recommendations. I rejected the first suggestion as too basic, burgers and not much beside, the closest option was the Vine Inn. The menu was quite substantial but, yeah, let's just leave it there.

We stopped at a supermarket to purchase some water. In bulk. The water here is not the best. This is somewhat surprising because we have been drinking water from the tap at all other points so far. It was here that I came across the first trolley sanitizer. Speechless.

With the afternoon in front of us, we ventured to Torbreck Wines. Another excellent choice. The tasting room is lovely and has a beautiful aspect overlooking an olive grove and their gardens. The olives are planted in an area of water egress through the property and do a wonderful job in soaking up the water before it reaches the grapes, ensuring their feet stay dry. 

Towards the olives

Fortunately, after a busy morning, we were the only visitors. Once again we sipped our way through one of the tasting menus. It wasn't really a choice, one option sampled a selection from their range, the other was focused on their aged reds. Tempting, but not for this trip. 

Manicured gardens

Wines purchased, repatriation to NSW arranged we drove back to the Resort and the balcony (with a now free-sliding door) to enjoy the encroaching evening, a glass of wine and each other's company.

And the title today? Well, dear reader, I'll be honest, we had nothing that we hadn't used before so I decided to use titles of songs that I have enjoyed over the years. Todd Rundgren is a greatly underestimated talent and I am going to use his work when I lack inspiration on this trip. This one is from 1972. You can listen here, enjoy.

Until tomorrow.