The Barossa Valley

 Probably the most famous wine region in South Australia is the Barossa Valley, located north and east of Adelaide.  It is a dry valley, so it is most famous for shiraz, a grape that began in the middle east.  We visited 4 wineries and tasted 6-8 wines per stop.  It was a long day.

The first stop was ChateauYaldara.  

This winery was established after WWII when a former POW, Hermann Thumm, bought some land that had the ruins of an old winery.  Hermann the German, as he was affectionately known, built the Chateau to display some of his fine china and furniture.  The name Yaldara is aboriginal for "sparkling" -- we tasted two of the namesake wines and toured their cellars.

barrels for aging tawny (port)

Second stop was the town of Tanunda (aboriginal for "water hole").  It is a quaint little town in the midst of the Barossa Valley.  Scott liked the name of this one shop.

a store for nothing but socks?

The second winery of the day was Peter Lehmann.  

Peter Lehmann front yard

Lehmann was a fifth-generation Barossan, who was instrumental in keeping the region going during a downturn in the economy.  He worked for other wineries to learn the process, and quit when corporate greed was dropping vineyard contracts.  He put together a group of vineyards and convinced them to let him make wine using their grapes... 

inside their tasting room

first flight of wines

Scott dressed up in his Napa Valley 
"Squeeze Me, Make Me Whine" t-shirt