Today was fantastic! Started the day with Chef Adam cooking us up some bacon-and-egg rolls to line our stomachs for the wine-y day ahead.
After brekkie, we set out on a walking tour of the Adelaide Hills. The clouds looked a bit iffy, but they would not deter us.
Now, anyone who has been to the Adelaide Hills knows that it’s really not all that walkable. Unless you are married to Adam Murray, and then EVERYWHERE is walkable. And because I was determined to taste some great wine today and didn’t want Adam to have to play designated driver, I hatched this ambulatory tour.
Our first stop was Shaw + Smith, a 30-minute walk from our campground. Adam had some work to do this morning, so he sat outside and took calls while I partook of a five-wine mixed flight of the winery’s latest releases of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz.
The cellar door fella pouring me wine gave me some bonus pours, too, including a special Pinot Noir that I ended up splurging on at the end. The S + S cellar door was very modern and bright, with beautiful views overlooking the vineyards. It didn’t feature a lot of the extra stuff you see at some cellar doors – no wine-related swag – just good wine.
Next, we walked from Shaw + Smith to Hahndorf Hill, a winery I was particularly excited about, as it specializes in Gruner Veltliner, one of my favorite white grape varieties and a frequent resident in our fridge and my glass. The autumn colors were on full display on our 40-minute walk, but the clouds were ever-threatening. We picked up our pace, as our supply of clean and/or dry clothes back at Sherwood is limited.
The cellar door at Hahndorf Hill was particularly resplendent with color:
We made it to the door of the tasting room just as the sky opened. All the better … we could settle in here for a while. Better still, they had a wine flight very well-suited to my husband’s sweet tooth: a wine and chocolate tasting. He was definitely in for this one. Meanwhile, I was quite content to sip my way through the delicious Gruner Veltliner flight, watch the rain over the vineyards, and see Adam savour his treats.
My walking tour hit a snag when the rain wouldn’t stop. Still, we were determined to get to a late lunch in Hahndorf, a German village in the Adelaide Hills that is a bit kitschy but charming nonetheless. This was another 30-minute walk, and we got wet. So, the goal of a lunch destination was to find somewhere with a fireplace. We were in luck; a number of the German pubs lining Hahndorf’s main street featured roaring fires. And as luck would have it, a group got up just as we had settled on the Hahndorf Inn and shook out our umbrellas. We stripped off some wet layers, ordered a German beer, a Gruner Veltliner, and, of course, a pretzel to start. We followed this up with a German sausage platter – hit the spot!
We were not done for the day, but the walking portion was, as the rain would not subside. But would we succeed with Uber out here in the Hills? With some waiting, we would!
Our Uber driver deposited us at Grunthal Brew, a local brewery and also home of Udder Delights Handmade Cheese. (I needed some cheese supplies for the fridge in Sherwood, and I was already a fan of Udder Delights camembert and brie back in Sydney.) Having had a late lunch in Hahndorf, we settled on a cheese plate and more local beer and Hesketh Wine.
I also did a tasting up at the cheese counter, and walked away with some new discoveries: a smoked brie and some Mawson blue.
Now, we were well and truly done, and it was still raining. We hailed another Uber, and home we went, udderly (heh!) satisfied with our day.
