Grange - Feb 18

Summary: Grange is the main event, Germans in Adelaide, before the tasting, the tasting, the duck, and unlikely bistro

I come across the desert to greet you with a smile… This is what we (OK, I) had been looking forward to the most in Adelaide while driving across the Nullarbor. I was thinking of tasting my favorite wine – Penfolds Grange. But I am jumping ahead.

We went back to Starbucks (hey, I’ve missed them) and they recognized us. I guess we are now officially regulars. Anyhow, the streets of Adelaide were very different on a Monday morning than a Sunday – no surprise there.

Also, Adelaide has answered my challenge to produce some German cars. They are not exactly at San Francisco levels, but you can at least find them. The French show up as well. Not a big deal to others, but a glaring omission when the other major manfacturers are all big players in this market. It seems odd that VW, BMW, and Mercedes would just forget half of Australia or be completely unable to get traction in half the country (including a real city – Perth). Oh well, I’ll keep my automotive market share thoughts to a minimum.

Our tasting appointment was set for 2pm, so we drove up a little early, thinking we would putz around Gawler or Nuriootpa, go to a playground, whatever (no wine tasting – keep the palate clean!). Those plans seemed good until we got into the car. The high in Adelaide was 39 and maybe a little higher in Barossa. “39” does not sound warm to me, but it is something like 103 F which does sound warm. It is a dry heat, much like an oven or a hair dryer. It seems that Australia this time of year (outside Perth and the Southwest) offers Sauna and Steam Room settings. In Cairns, Darwin, and Broome the dial was set at “Steam Room”, Adelaide is the Sauna. The playground was replaced with a mall. It was a big mall, but slightly cruel as every little $2 kiddie ride (except one, the lamest one) was out of order – the car, the carousel, one other one. It led to a new round of excitement followed by a discussion of the ride simply being broken. Anyhow, it kept us cool for a while, we got in the car, he immediately fell asleep, we drove to Penfolds and sat (with AC) for another hour, and he was awoken at 1:50 by me.

So Penfolds Grange tasting includes a tour and a tasting, followed by $100 off a bottle of Grange or 20% off other Penfolds wines. The tour was great – we saw them destemming and crushing some shiraz that was just harvested today. We went to the barrel warehouse – a giant warehouse with much of their red wines. It was heaven. Then came the really good part – we tasted several outstanding wines. My tasting notes are in the car so I won’t run down the list, but suffice it to say – mmmm. On the tour, there was a good guy from Perth – Justin – who also has a 2 year old (not with him) and a nice couple from LA. Our tour and tasting guide (Kyra, Keira – never saw it written) did a great job and we all enjoyed the experience. Alex was very good the whole time, until he was told how good he had been. Within 5 minutes of being lauded by Justin and K—a, he started the “run out of the room and wait for daddy to chase me” game, followed by screaming along with turning into jello when grabbed. Still, he did a great job, we kept him active and he took the bait. I won’t say how much the tour costs, Aneta will get the bill soon enough (honey, think of it like when you get a spa treatment), but it was very memorable. I did taste a couple of the normal Penfolds wines (under $100 a bottle) and got a couple of those that are not sold in the US, but I did not take advantage of the discount on the high end wines because they are cheaper at home.

As Hilton could not fit us in for a free night on Monday, we stayed at a Comfort Inn out by the airport. Although that may sound like a letdown (and it would have been more convenient to stay in one room), it is also nice to be at a place with other families. At the Hilton, we are surrounded by business travelers and older couples looking for an upscale experience. At the Comfort Inn, we found other families with kids looking to save a buck or two. At the Hilton, the pool overlooks the city center, at the Comfort Inn, the pool has its own duck. Best of all, the Comfort Inn has a coin-op laundry facility – the Hilton has a service you can send your laundry off to. Makes sense that if the room is $385 a night you don’t want to wash your own stuff, not so much on points. So the Comfort Inn was a nice place.

The neighborhood was not alluring, so on the recommendation of the guy who checked us in, we ate next door. Next door was a “sports bar”. I use the quotes because a sports bar without TVs is not a sports bar in my mind, but it was a pool hall. Anyhow, they had the Cue Café. If you want to set expectations low, put a bistro in a pool hall. It was really good. The food, the presentation (looking at other people’s plates too), it was truly unexpected. It was like one of the better restaurants near the Hilton – the kind that I would not pay for. Yet it was priced like a pool hall.

Tomorrow: Back to Barossa to hit the other wineries (and back to the Hilton)