Winery Reviews

Winery Adventures:
There’s nothing more fun than having a group of friends going on a winery tour. Eating, drinking, gossiping, and enjoying the beautiful scenery—the day passed only too fast! Here is the low-down on some of our favourites:

Barossa Valley: Situated about 1 hour drive north of Adelaide, the Barossa Valley is one of the most famous wine regions in Australia. Renowned for its rich and robust red wine, the Barossa is home to some hundred-odd vineyards and wineries; it is also the home of the Whispering Wall, an old dam built accidentally with special acoustic properties, allowing people to listen to even whispers from one side to another.

Chateau Barossa
This is the only winery whose opening ceremony was attended by the Queen Her Majesty! It is surrounded by a very beautiful and expansive garden, boasting many species of roses, making it one of the must-sees.
Sadly, the wines are not particularly outstanding; there is one nice, fragrant chardonnay, but other than that there’s not much else. However, for those with a sweet tooth, Chateau Barossa specializes in wine liquor, wine which has been fortified and flavoured to resemble “non-grape” flavours like chocolate, coffee, strawberry, and more; they have a thick and sticky consistency and a very unique grape foretaste and aftertaste that distinguishes it from generic liquors.

Chateau Yaldarra
When guests come to Adelaide, Chateau Yaldarra is always included on the list of sight-seeing spots. Tours regularly drive here to catch a glimpse of the real castle and the lovely fountain that is in front of it.
Wine-wise, the verdelho is one of our all time favourites (“I can just drink this all day,” says Ti.) There is also some limited edition Julius port which is worth noting, but many others are just your average-tasting wine. Overall, the scenery is probably the main reason for stopping.

Miranda
This is a must-stop for all at Le Minald Douse. Owned by the Miranda family, this cosy yet modern winery is home to many wines that we just keep coming back for. They also host a small restaurant area, serving a selection of simple yet delicious meals, often with complimentary glasses of wine from the tasting area! We love the warm welcome but the wine is really the main feature.
For starters, the Sparkling Shiraz—although packaging could not be simpler, this is one of best in terms of the balance between flavour (REAL shiraz with kick instead of the generic “red syrup with bubbles”) and price. Secondly, the White Pointer—a refreshing, fragrant blend of three whites—it’s really too bad they don’t make it anymore, because we were prepared to buy boxes!
The Old Vine comes, like it’s name, from a vine that is supposedly 80 (?!) years-old; the fragrance greets you and wins you over straight away, but if that doesn’t do it, the rich yet mellowed out flavour should. The “Lou’s” series are a bit more average in comparison, but still good value-for-money cab sauv and shirazes that may improve with time.
Special to Miranda is their award-winning botrytis; rarely will you find such sweet yet light and refreshing dessert wine such as this one. Miranda is also where we first tasted Kilkenny’s Cream, liquor that is very similar to Baileys, with even more flavours to choose from: hazelnut, coffee, strawberry…