Barossa Valley: wine, gin, and a vintage fair / vino, Ginebra, y feria antigua

Barossa Valley vineyard

Apr 23-25

Following our exposure to the “wine and wetlands” experience we were ready for the Barossa Valley, recognised as a “premier wine region”, at least by the local publicity machinery. We travelled via flat country for a while, finally arriving at a low range of hills within which is The Valley itself. We stayed at a caravan park conveniently close to the town of Tanunda, trying out one of the “cabins” at the site, which was well-equipped and comfortable, as it should be for the price. It was a short walk into the town, which we were by now not surprised to find was very quiet, as we have learned to expect, although it was  somewhat surprising given that it was the week of the biennial Barossa Vintage Fair. We did find a good restaurant open which had no tables available, although bar stools were - the food was good which was good news given that it appeared to be the only option in town.

Barossa Valley from the lookout

Después de nuestra exposición a “vino y pantanal” estábamos listos para visitar El Valle de Barossa, reconocido como “región vinícola de primera” al menos por la maquinaria publicitaria. Viajamos inicialmente por terrenos planos y después llegamos a las colinas que demarcan el valle. Quedamos al parque de caravanas, muy conveniente por la cercanía a Tanunda, probando una cabaña, bien equipada y cómoda, como era de esperase por su precio. Fue una caminata corta al pueblo que, como hemos aprendido es común, encontramos tranquilio, sin embargo nos sorprendió teniendo en cuenta que estábamos en la bianual Feria Antigua del valle. Logramos encontrar un restaurante abierto, sin embargo no tenia mesas libres y cenamos en sillas del bar - la comida estaba rica, buenas noticias cuando pensamos que fue aparentemente la única opción en el pueblo.

Vineyard around Seppeltsfield

The following day we explored the possibilities provided through the Vintage Fair, finding good exhibitions of embroidery and of quilting, a small craft display at Angaston, after which we repaired to try the Sieber winery and then the Seppeltsfield Gin Distillery.

Vineyard going to Angaston

El siguiente día exploramos los posibilidades disponibles en la feria, encontrando buenas exhibiciones de bordado y quilting, una oferta de artesanías en Angaston, y después visitas al viñedo de Sieber, y destilería de ginebra de Seppeltsfield.

We had found a leak in our potable water tank, and took advantage of the local expertise in irrigation systems to acquire the right sealant for PVC connections and apply this to the tank connections, which has so far proved to be a successful fix.

Habíamos encontrado un pequeño derrame en nuestro tanque de agua potable, y tomamos ventaja de la expertise en irrigación para buscar el sellando apropiado para PVC y hacer la reparación del tanque, que hasta ahora ha funcionado exitosamente.

Both days in the town we lunched at Nosh, which is friendly and provided excellent food and service. We then headed westwards through attractive rolling country, spotting our first wild koala in the Torrens Valley on our way to the coast, casually strolling across the road before climbing into a tree near the roadside.

Koala crossing the street ... extremely slowly

Ambos días en el pueblo desayunamos en Nosh, gente amable, con buena comida y servicio. Nos dirigimos al occidente a través de paisaje atractivo, venado nuestro primer koala silvestre en El Valle de Torrens, caminando tranquilamente por la carretera y subiendo un árbol al lado de la vía.

PS: how was the wine? Not bad however nothing in the “wow” category. The gin was good though.

PD: cómo fue le vino? Bien pero no sobresaliente. La ginebra fue bien.
Abrazos,

Alan y Marce


Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com