So when you have played the Sandbelt courses in Melbourne and tamed Royal Sydney, climbed the bridge, explored the Opera House and cruised the harbour, what else are you going to do?
Like to try a little wine tasting?
A great idea, so head across to Adelaide and up into the Barossa Valley to taste some of Australia’s finest wines. And be sure to stop at Penfolds for a tasting with a difference. So different in fact, that you actually blend the wine you will be tasting!
After the customary introduction to the founding of the company and who did what and who is still around, you are taken into a laboratory complete with white coat, measuring tubes, funnels and plenty of unlabelled wine.
Three cultivars are placed in front of you…Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre. The subtleties of each are explained and after tasting them, you are invited to select your own percentage of each which will go to making up your own blend.
Pot luck comes into play here, as your blend will either be imminently palatable or taste like drain cleaner. But now understanding a little of the winemaker’s craft, you tackle your second blend, which hopefully is closer to the mark. Growing with new-found wine confidence, the third attempt is accompanied by sounds of encouragement and excitement by a previously silent and intent group.
With three blends of varying quality now in front of you, you need to select the best of these for “bottling”. With blurring of the taste buds and a heightened level of uncertainty taking over, your appreciation for the winemaker’s talents in getting the blend right every time is growing by the second.
Make a decision and stick with it is the advice given, so your “secret” percentage split is once again measured, but this time in larger amounts as you need to fill a bottle and not a glass. Bottled and sealed, the label with your own name as the “assistant winemaker” is a nice touch and certainly one to be displayed proudly to the wine-buffs back home.
With all the concentration behind you, a long lunch on one of the nearby farmsteads is a great idea before heading back.
No need to rush though…Royal Adelaide will still be there to be played tomorrow.