One-third into our journey and farewells to Oz & Kiwi – but wait! We can’t leave without a tribute to wine. Last summer, I gathered a short list of recommended wines from a sommelier at Jean Georges in NYC which was a nice start to a great experience. Here are the results with links to explore further:
- Marlborough, New Zealand
- Nautilus Estate – Highly recommended
- Champagnes (esp. rose) are impressive
- Solid portfolio across the board as I’d be happy with any of their wines
- Hans Herzog Estate – Highly recommended
- Montepulciano is my kind of wine – a big Italian varietal
- Hans has 20+ grape varieties on his estate and experiments quite successfully.
- Spy Valley Wines – Easy Peasy!
- All drinkable but nothing spectacular
- Brancott Estate – Great views, not wine
- Nautilus Estate – Highly recommended
- Central Otago, New Zealand
- Felton Road – Excellent
- Best Pinot in New Zealand
- Low key but real good wines
- Quartz Reef – Nice champagne
- Rippon – Highly Recommended
- All around quality winery in beautiful setting
- Maud & Akitu – Recommended
- Consumed these with our Wanaka host friends Steve & Shannon Turner
- Craggy Range – Nice wine
- Felton Road – Excellent
- Barossa Valley, South Australia
- A fantastic day thanks to our Air BnB Host, Mel, who took us on a special tour of wineries VIP style
- Two Hands – Nice winery recommended
- Hentley Farm – World class restaurant
- Nice wines too but the chef rocks
- Seppelsfield – Partner with Fino for lunch
- Historically significant
- Murray Street Vineyards – Highly Recommended
- Big reds that I like! Shirazzzzz!
- Rockford – Highly Recommended
- Awesome red pinot champagne
- Buys grapes from small batch vineyards
- Artisans group – Cool grouping of 7 wineries
- John Duval Wines – Shiraz!!
- Spinifex – Excellent wines
- Langmeil – Strong recommendation
- Missed the winery but shared a bottle of this delicious stuff! Also missed Pewsey Vale
- Clare Valley, South Australia
- Following 3 fantastic days in Flinders Ranges, we spent 2 in Clare Valley. A mellow and fruitful time!
- Jim Barry – Everyday nice
- Just like 2 Hands, a solid start and everyone is related to the Barry Family in Clare!
- Knappstein – Wine & Beer Winner!
- Ok, we prefer the beer
- Kilikanoon – Highly recommended
- Favorite in Clare but we never got to Grosset – Henschke Hill in Eden Valley
- Sevenhills – Good wines
- Beautiful grounds on church land
- O’Leary-Walker Wines – Recommended
- Wonderful views of Clare Valley too
- Claymore – Rocker wines
- Hop & Vine for beer and wine
- Clare Valley Brewing Co: Monkey’s Uncle Red Ale! Cool and tasty
- Good Catholic Girl wine – ok, next
- Additional tastings and thoughts:
- Planned to visit the Margaret River in Western Australia but school exams stopped that trip cold
- Cleanskins – bottles sell for $5-12 and are same as cover label in USA. Box wine – perfect for campers and cheap!
Conclusion: Both countries have great tastings and are worth a visit. While the wines may not match up to Napa’s finest, you do get a great diverse tasting ranging from Shiraz to Grenache to Malbec and Mataro. A second benefit is the old school open cellar doors that Napa used to have (but now you have to pay a fee to get a glass). Oh and the mountains that surround these wineries are a great escape as well. Cheers from Down Under and we are on the wagon in Indonesia!