We had the great fortune of being invited on a private tour today by new friends John Powell and Leanne Butterworth. They are retired Australians and having spent three months in this area last year, they planned a beautiful day in the Borossa Valley, visiting 4 wineries, along with Drew, the Cruise Director and our three ship Sommeliers; Jorge, Alex and Tapiwa.

Some background: Adelaide is the capital of the state of South Australia and has a population of 1.4M. Unlike the other large cities we’ve visited in Australia, Adelaide was not founded as a penal colony. Instead, it was settled by English and German immigrants, chasing a dream and looking to build a new life in a new part of the country.

One of the early industries that was established was wine making. The Barossa Valley was settled in 1842 by early pioneers like Johann Gramp (Jacob’s Creek) and Samuel Smith (Yalumba). Today, the valley boasts over 140 wineries and even more grape growers, many of them as the 6th generation of the original settlers. Barossa is also home to some of the world’s oldest continuously producing vines and is world-renown for their Shiraz wines.

We started at Saltrams Winery, home of the Saltrams and Pepperjack labels, with a standup tasting at their counter. Their shiraz and cabernet sauvignon were stand outs. Next, we visited Seppeltsfield Wines, a very stately and elegant property with gorgeous gardens. They have a workshop creating lovely potions, lotions, and soaps from olive oil, as well as consumable oils, vinegars, jams and spreads. This “all things olive oil” shop is not to be missed if in the Barossa Valley. Our tasting for our group of fourteen was around a circular counter, with everyone seated. Marshall purchased some of their fortified wine.

Our third winery was the oldest in the valley, Yalumba. The historic buildings on property were so interesting to look at and experience. We had a private, seated tasting in an old building full of family antiques and memorabilia. While sampling the wines, our guide told us the amazing history of Yalumba and all the challenges the family has endured over the generations. We were served abundant homemade bread, cheeses, hams and olives, along with local olive oil and something we had never tasted before, Aussie Bush Dukkah. Dukkah is ground macadamia nuts, lemon myrtle and pepperberry, served by dipping the bread in the olive oil, then into the Dukkah mixture. It was fantastic!! The wines were lovely, the space inspiring and the food delicious.

Our final stop was Gibson Wines and we had the pleasure of hearing directly from the wine maker himself, Adam Gibson. He is second generation and has a real passion for the valley and for wine making. This is a much smaller operation and it was neat to hear how he wants to put his own stamp on the Gibson label. We sampled some wines at a table outside, looking at the vines and enjoying the sunshine. We were then “taken to the shed”, where we sampled some wine directly from the American-made oak barrels. What a great experience and we enjoyed the wines too, especially the Dirtman Shiraz.

It was a fun day learning the Barossa Valley history and sampling their award-winning wine. It was particularly special to be doing it with the Sommeliers and the Cruise Director. We’ll share more about them in a later post. Thanks to John and Leanne for organizing and facilitating the day.

Tomorrow: Sea Day