Clare Valley – continued

7/3/2015

After a good nights sleep and a healthy breakfast (Parris Creek Biodynamic yoghurt, 180 nutrition and other super-foods like Maca, Mesquite, Chia seeds, some dried green algae, fresh blueberries) I embarked on another tour to discover the wonderful Clare Valley.

I started at Annie Lane, an old winery here in the valley. We've had quite a few of their Cab Savs while being in the mining camp in the Pilbara. Their small art gallery and display of vintage wine making equipment was a nice addition to tasting some wines

The Copper Trail Shiraz - Annie's Lane flagship wine

Shut the Gate was next. A lovely little place, with style and great wines. Their labels are amazing, done by an artist from London. Had a nice chat with Richard, the owner of the place. Their 2010 Single Site Shiraz was exceptional!

One of their labels - tells a story about a young wolf using a sheep skin to hide among the flock and feast on the sheep when the Sheppard is gone

Their other series of labels is from illustrations from an old book

Great labels - for freedom

I totally love their labels - For Hunger

I had a decent cappuccino at O'Leary Walker and tried their flagship Riesling, Dr's Cut. Good stuff!

Clare Valley view from O'Leary

Russel, a friend of Alex, was giving me a warm welcome at Pikes, another very good winery. Their flagship red, the 2010 The Hill Block Cabernet was excellent.

To get a bit of exercise, I decided to walk to Kirrihill, a winery where Alex works at the cellar door at times. They have a big variety of wines and very good value for money. Their 2012 Tullymore Single Series Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite today. Alex's neighbors, a lovely couple who enjoy free-camping as well, were at the winery as well, leading to a great conversation and some good tips for places to visit on the remainder of my trip. They gave me a lift home which was very kind of them.

The late afternoon sun made for some stunning colors – and I let the creative juices flow with the Sigma 35mm 1.4, my only non-Canon-L lens. Here are some of the shots:

Autumn has arrived

Talbot's Block Vineyard

With the last two days both being very big, I elected to spend a quit evening, put a 450g rump steak on the grill, cut up some veggies for a salad and enjoy a bit of quiet time, practicing playing the guitar, sorting through some photos, writing in 'Wanderlust' and calling my parents in Austria. I've just realised that I've surpassed the 500 mark of wines tasted and rated in Vivino, my wine app of choice. Quite a few years of hard work to get there ;-)

Dinner

Distance traveled today: 44km