Spring is here... and the tastings have begun.

Since my last entry, James and I have progressed with the pruning and tying on and the vineyard is looking fairly tidy; just a day or two's mowing to be done yet.

In between that workload, we entered some of our wines into a few local events; the first being the "Taste of Spring Eden Valley Riesling Tasting" which was a trade event for winery representatives and media, and the second being the 2009 Barossa Wine Show.

The Barossa, of course, was at it's beautiful best. Springtime here is really lovely and the visitors to these events were not disappointed. With the events located at the Eden Valley Institute, Chateau Tanunda and Yalumba Wines, the historical beauty of the venues only complemented the many superb wines being offered. The photo above is of one of the tables at the 2009 Barossa Wine Show Exhibitor's Tasting at Yalumba last Friday and the one below is of setting up the tables ready for a divine lunch prepared by Gill Radford (of Radford Wines) after a morning tasting seventy-five different Eden Valley rieslings from thirty-five different producers. The riesling tasting was held on Thursday.

I may be slightly biased but the long tables set up with the assortment of rieslings, including rare museum stocks, was something to be in awe of and I must admit that I was amazed that there were so many. Although I was incredibly busy for most of the day helping Gill and her staff with the setting up, serving and clearing, I did manage to taste quite a few of the wines (not as many as I would have liked but that may have been near impossible for me anyway!) and must admit that I was completely entranced by this often overlooked variety which is so incredibly special. There is not much that compares to an aged riesling in respect to softness and I think a lot of the media present agreed.