South Australia is home to some of the best wine regions in Australia. They are way more casual than the ones in Margaret River. So casual, that it is not rare to see Australian families with their kids there and everyone is having a good time. There is Clare Valley with its outstanding Riesling, Barossa Valley with its superb Shiraz and McLaren Vale with its festivals and stylish wineries.
We liked Clare Valley so much that we stayed there for three nights. On our first day we visited Stone Bridge Wines and enjoyed their delicious Pizza, followed by Mitchell wines and Paulett wines. And when we already were on our way back, we stopped at a herd of lambs. They kept following us as they expected to receive food from us. They ultimately received their food supplements a little bit later from Dany Wilson the owner of the Wilson Vineyard. He told us a lot about the area and invited us for a private wine tasting the next morning. He spent the entire morning with us and we also got to know his lovely wife and his three daughters. It was a heartwarming experience. We finished the day with a visit at the Reillys Wines Cellar where a server with Aboriginal roots told us about his adventurous childhood.
In Barossa Valley we only made it to one winery, the Kellermeister Estate. But we liked their Shiraz and their tasting platter in the garden so much, that we did not see the point in going any further. Plus, on that day was Christmas eve and we needed time to prepare our four course Christmas dinner accompanied by three matching wines.
As everything was closed on Christmas day, we decided to search for Weedy Seadragons at the Rapid Bay Jetty. But the water was so cold, that we didn’t spend enough time in the water to find one of those dragons – but at least we tried. On Boxing Day, we went shopping in Adelaide and thanks to Boxing Day Sales there were so many people in the city that it was almost too much for us. But still it felt good to be in a city again.
Close to our campsite was also the Port Willunga Jetty and its Pylons in combination with the best sunset in a long time offered a unique photo opportunity. We also met a South Australian photographer (Harry Dinnen) there and had an interesting chat about photography obviously.
The next day we checked out the wineries of the McLaren Vale and to do so we started with Leconfield Wines. They had a festival there with live music and as on most SA wineries the Australians also brought their children. We were just wondering how they arranged the drive home. But maybe they were so used to drive after a few glasses that they still drove safe. After this family event we went to a really stylish winery called Down The Rabbit Hole. It is owned and run by Elise Cook and her husband Dominic. They are probably the most prominent Instagrammers in South Australia but they also created the most stylish cellar door in the whole state. We spent a fantastic evening there with live music, great food and even better wine.
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