Heading south to Cadenzia Country.

"Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favourite things...", so sang the Lennon Sisters.

In desperate need of a short break (also known as 'market research') and a breath of fresh sea air, I took it upon myself to indulge in a few of my own favourite things last weekend. I took a road-trip to see my Southerner friends on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Despite having some of the world's best wines at my fingertips here in the Barossa and Eden Valleys, every now and then I get an urge for something a little different. In winter I crave the divine red wines from the McLaren Vale region, and in summer, some of the equally extraordinary rieslings from the Clare Valley. I see no reason why I must have one favourite of anything when there are so many delicious wines available to me, most within a few hours drive. And so, off to the Vale I went.

Getting away early was impossible, as I was late to leave the shop due to tying up loose ends, and it was quite a treacherous drive from Tanunda to Clayton Bay on the winding, branch-scattered roads in the pitch black night. But I arrived safely, armed with some of my own regions finest wines - a Kurtz Family Vineyard GSM and a Tim Smith Shiraz, plus one of Karra Yerta's own museum stock 2005 Eden Valley Rieslings. My lovely hostess for the night, Annabelle, had waited patiently for my arrival, and had the glasses ready. The storms hit sometime around 4am but by then we were sleeping peacefully, ready to hit the road to McLaren Vale early the next day.

The early start failed dismally, so knowing that we had already missed the wonderful Willunga Market, we took a scenic route through the winding hills past the quaint tiny villages of Finnis and Ashbourne, before detouring through a special little area called Kuitpo Colony. What an amazing and beautiful part of the world! You can read more about Kuitpo Colony here: http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080571b.htm

A quick drive past the Lazy Ballerina cellar door, one of my favourites in the region, to McLaren Vale saw us land at the lovely pair of stores, Fall from Grace, and Blessed Cheese. Gill Gordon-Smith is the owner of Fall from Grace and stocks an incredible array of international wines. I left with a most interesting bottle of French Shiraz. The photo here is of Blessed Cheese, a delightful licensed cafe which has the most amazing array of goodies, as you can see.

After that, we headed further north to find another friend who was to accompany us to a lovely lady's thirtieth birthday at Port Noarlunga. A fine night of fun and music was had by all. I must say that the Southerners really do turn on the hospitality and despite the chilly night, it was perhaps the most enjoyable, and warmest, in every way, party that I have ever attended. Thank you, Laura, and to Robyn and Mick also:)

The next morning after the mandatory recovery breakfast of cheese rolls with ham, tomato, lots of cracked pepper and a wee glass of pear cider (to cleanse the soul), we headed to Yangarra Estate Vineyard where we were given a tour of the recently opened cellar door ,and a tasting of the delectable Yangarra wines by the very charming Manager and Winemaker, Peter Fraser. All of the Yangarra wines are delicious but my personal favourite was the 2008 Cadenzia, which I haven't stopped raving about since my return. For more information on the McLaren Vale Cadenzias please go here: http://www.mclarenvale.info/go/special-features/varietal/cadenzia/cadenzia

Dragging ourselves away from the cosy Yangarra Cellar Door, with its luscious leather seats and wood fire, was extremely difficult, but one has to do what one has to do. So to the chorus of clinking bottles, Annabelle and I headed back to the Bay via the Meadows market, another little country town event where you can buy all sorts of plants, jewellery, fruit, vegetables and many other goodies. The sun was shining, taking just enough chill off the air so that it wasn't unbearably cold, and it was a magnificent afternoon for a drive, back to the Barossa via the Bay.

I arrived home just after dark, with some fine McLaren Vale wines in my back seat, a warm heart from the kindness shown by the Southerners to their Barossa guest, and a mind full of wonderful ideas to utilise in the Collective Barossa shop over the coming months. It really was a great little short break and has given me much faith in the future of the South Australian wine industry, and the potential for all areas, if we are willing to work together. I have the world at my fingertips, or should I say the glass? Either way, it's time to pour another glass of that magnificent Yangarra Cadenzia. Try it, I promise you won't be disappointed.

A Lazy trip to lovely McLaren Vale and beyond.

Life is completely crazy here at the moment - I have a new business about to start (along with still running many aspects of the winery, and indeed, the family, house and garden) and took a few days off for some important business and even more important leisure before I land head first into a whirlwind next six months. I amaze myself at how much I can squeeze into a mere forty-eight hours sometimes!

I left the Barossa at 4pm on Tuesday with a car load of sparkling shiraz to deliver to Glasscraft Print. The wonderful manager, Bronte, helped me to unload the car and then gave me a very brief look at the terrific facilities at his business at Mount Barker before I headed further south to Kuitpo for a very important meeting with someone I had been wanting to meet for a very long time.

When I arrived at the Lazy Ballerina cellar door in the middle of the magnificent Kuitpo Forest, there was absolutely nothing lazy about the man behind the label, James Hook. Despite having worked a full day at his other job as a viticulturist, there he was, while waiting for me to arrive, busily loading the wheelbarrow with mulch and tending to his family's incredibly beautiful garden.

James graciously took me on a tour of the Lazy Ballerina cellar door and gardens while I happily clicked away on my over-worked digital camera trying to encapsulate even a little of the beauty around me. I was truly stunned by not only him, but also by all the hard work he and his parents had done to create such an incredible place which after bushfires many years ago, had left little to work with. Totally inspirational! And that was before trying his wines. I had always refused to try the Lazy Ballerina wines until I had met the man himself so needless to say, when we left to continue our journey to a mutual friend's house for a wonderful dinner, I didn't walk out empty handed. I highly recommend James' wines to everyone!

The next morning, after a peaceful and relaxing slumber, belly still full of fine food and wines from the previous night, I arose, and headed further south to McLaren Vale. My stop here was to another equally incredible place called Fall From Grace which is run by an effervescent lady named Gill Gordon-Smith. She sells the most divine range of international wines and also runs wine education classes - it's a must-do stop on your list if you are visiting McLaren Vale. She also happens to be the Spieglau distributor for trade so I now had the glasses to accompany my Lazy Ballerina wines. Could it get any better? Yes it could.

By early afternoon I had left McLaren Vale, headed further north again, past Yangarra where I'd previously had a look at the amazing new winery being built with James Hook, tour-guided by Philip White, and headed east toward the historic town of Strathalbyn before taking a sharp south turn to end up at Clayton where I spent the late afternoon and evening with my lovely new friend Annabelle. One of South Australia's most talented artists, Annabelle is as vibrant and gorgeous as the art she produces and I couldn't have thought of a better way to end my very short break than to spend it with her.

In less than forty-eight hours I had met two incredible new people, spent time with two good friends, and throughout, enjoyed the best of what South Australia has to offer - fine food, fine wines and great hospitality. Now, back home and back to the grind, I feel much more refreshed and ready to face the next month which is surely going to be quite mad... but more about that in my coming posts.