the monday after womadelaide is a comedown day
it's also a public holiday in adelaide for a horse race
unusually this year i was not due to leave town until tuesday
so the forces of good conspired to lay on a special day
a friend and her daughter were also in town for womad
they had a cousin domiciled in the city with a spare car
it was offered to us to go wherever we wanted
the heat of womad meant that a beach was a good idea
as was the temptation of some wine-sampling
so it was decided to do both in no particular order
we cruised south out of adelaide destination mclaren vale
our fear was traffic and crowds on this public holiday
but mclaren vale was a relative ghost town
seems south australians refuse to travel in heat
so it felt like we had the valley to ourselves
common sense dictated that we would limit ourselves to 3 wineries
d'arenberg was selected primarily on brand recognition
a bit of a disappointing start though with disinterested staff
not exactly going out of their way to sell their wares
maybe they detected that we were not big spenders
though the car owner later suggested the s a plates were the problem
suggesting south australians are over selling wine to south australians
next stop was a place called the olive grove
a producer of fine wines, olives, jams, chutneys, etc
the total opposite treatment was received here
major clicking of personalities between the mother behind the counter
and the mother in our group meant an hour or so was spent there
lots of idle chat starting on wine, then onto olives and then drugs
over the counter drugs specifically in reference to headache killers
for me the 2005 shiraz was just what i like in a red wine
dense, dark, strong, smooth and able to be enjoyed in sips
but alas the (lack of) budget meant no purchases made
then off to a winery called tapestry estate
the attraction here was a fine antipasto lunch
washed down with a glass or 2 of fine chardonnay
overlooking the sloping hills of the mclaren vale valley
all quite blissful really and a chance to compare notes on womad
then into the car and the return journey via the beaches south of adelaide
first and most impressive being christies beach where a refreshing swim was had
timing meant that we were there as the sun sank across the water
making for a photo opportunity even an amatuer could embrace
and manage to snap a few photos of the moment
which with later enhancement
makes for a great memory
