Today, we continued our drive towards Kangaroo Island, stopping in one of Australia’s main wine growing regions – Coonawarra.  The weather in Coonawarra is much warmer than New Zealand.  This region is known for making some really beautiful big red wines.  This is the type of wine that Justin and I prefer.  We love going to Napa to try all the great Cabernet Sauvignon.  Coonawarra is the most similar style to Napa that we have seen so far.

We visited three vineyards: Parker Estate, Majella, and Penley Estate.  We really enjoyed all three of them.

A couple of things that we have noticed while tasting wine in Australia and NZ:

1. They don’t release their wines a soon as vineyards in the US do.  Today, we tasted (and subsequently bought) a 2006 Merlot.  I couldn’t believe that they were just releasing it!  That would be very rare in the US.

2.  The majority of their wines-even the premium/expensive ones- are under screw cap.  To be honest, we have enjoyed the screw caps.  They are much more convenient while we are traveling.  I know that there are alot of people who would be horrified to have their fine wines under screw cap, but there are many benefits to this…… easy access, no risk of “corked wine” etc.  I suppose that only time will tell if screw caps cap withstand prolonged cellaring.

In Coonawarra, we are staying in a vineyard called Highbank.  It is a really cute little place.  Each window overlooks the vineyard.  Consequently, this vacation rental is called “A Room with a View.”

Tomorrow, we have a very long day of traveling to Kangaroo Island.  Kangaroo Island is a fairly remote part of Australia, but it is supposed to be beautiful, quiet, and relaxing.  I guess we’ll see!!

XOXO Alyce