Wine tasting

Monday 2nd March- Week 4. We had noticed 2 new people had started in our group and it turned out they were 2 poms, Alex and Leigh who had worked for AVS the previous year. They were on their 2nd year visas and were here in the Clare Valley to earn some money before leaving for Bali and then home. We soon started talking about the pros and cons of travelling and our experiences so far, it was interesting to talk about places we had all visited and what we had thought of them.
Our dvd for the week was The Duchess which we both thoroughly enjoyed.
Now whilst we have been travelling we have also been trying to organise our reception for when we return home. We thought it would be rather apt if for the drinks reception we could have wine produced in the Clare Valley and so we set to, to try and find a cellar which delivered abroad. No such luck! So then we thought we could post it ourselves-way too expensive and then the idea of choosing a wine we liked and seeing if we could purchase it in the UK instead came about.



So Adam has been trying a couple of different Shiraz but has not found one he likes as yet and also after doing a bit more investigation on the internet it seems not many of the wineries send their wines abroad. So will have to have a think about that one on the other hand I did have the idea to use corks as place card holders. Companies on the internet wanted anything between $15 and $40 dollars for a pack of 100 but with a little help from Boxie who proceeded to give me about 70 corks he was keeping to give to a charity (surely I’m more needy) and a generous donation from Knappstein cellar I have managed to obtain 100 for no money at all. $2.75 for a can of gold spray and Bob’s my father in law; I’ve got my place card holders.
As well as the place card holders I have been keeping Adam out of trouble by giving him a request to set up a wedding website. Trying to organise the reception from Aus has not been easy, and I think the wedding organiser at Heart of England Conference Centre is getting a bit sick and tired of my endless emails asking her all sorts of questions. In order to get our RSVP’s and try and keep guests informed of all the information they need to know I thought it would be a good idea to set up a wedding website. Now obviously I didn’t want to use a standard template I wanted one of my own so Adam has been slaving away on creating a masterpiece. The website address will be with the invites you receive at the beginning of April.
One evening we were having dinner with Yvonne and Brian and Yvonne turned round to us and asked what it was like working together? It was funny but I had not thought about the fact that we were spending 24 hours a day together. Well it seems we get on quite well and there haven’t been any arguments (as yet), but whether it would be different if it were an office situation would be interesting to know.
As we had a rental car through Hertz we had to phone to extend our rental on it. However when we first collected it we asked if at the end of the rental period we could pay in cash (using the money we earnt) to which we were told it would be ok. However I had noticed that £400 had been charged to my credit card. When we phoned to dispute this we were then told that money is taken automatically on the 28th of the month (something we were not told when we first collected the car or when we enquired about paying in cash). However Adam managed to get them to refund the money and we paid for it in cash at the nearest Hertz. I thought I would mention this in case anyone else decides to rent a car for more than a month so you know the process.
Adam and I had been told by various people at work that Kangaroo Island was an amazing place to visit. So we started to look into the cost of taking our car over and staying for the weekend, well I was dismayed by the price. Over $150 to take the car and then there was the cost of accommodation which was extortionate. So we decided to leave it this time round, however Iliayna suggested that if we return to Australia to try WOOFing on Kangaroo Island instead which I thought was a brilliant idea.




As David Box (Boxie) worked at Knappstein he had offered to show us around the Knappstein winery. So one day after work Adam and I met him there and he proceeded to show us around and tell us all about how wine is made. The containers were massive but what I liked the most was that they had little taps which allowed you to try a little whilst it was fermenting – it was so sweet and yummy! Now having picked for Knappstein and seen how their wines were developed Adam and I decided to buy a bottle of Shiraz, for testing of course, to see if we would like it for our reception, I’m afraid it didn’t pass Adams seal of approval so you won’t be seeing that on the tables. As we were in the mood for wine we then took a little trip to another cellar called Sevenhill (which was part of a monastery) and Adam tried another Shiraz but again it was not for him.
That Friday – Bingo night, one of our friends from grape picking David Mason turned up to play Bingo. But it seemed he had had a bit too much to drink and before we even started he shouted Bingo. At first everyone laughed but after that he would continue to call Bingo on every 1st ball picked, eventually he was asked to leave. His nan who had brought him there continued playing so Adam and I took it upon ourselves to go check up on him. He had decided he would walk to Clare which was about 7k away and it seemed he had fallen in a ditch as he was covered in hay and love grass. Fortunately he had the sense to phone a friend who turned up a couple of minutes after we had found him and promptly took him back to his house where I believe they carried on drinking. Well done David, you’re the first person I’ve ever met to be kicked out of Bingo-legend!
That weekend Adam and I had been thinking of going to Adelaide to a festival called Womad, but unfortunately we could not find any accommodation.



However we had promised Mirja (who had been staying with Boxie) that we would take her to Adelaide so she could catch a bus that would take her further south. So we met Boxie half way to Jamestown to exchange the package (Mirja) and then drove 2.5 hours to Adelaide. Mirja left her bags in the hostel she was staying at and Adam and I tried to find some accommodation but everywhere was booked and later we found out that the Sunday tickets had all sold out. We didn’t mind and continued looking around Adelaide city centre and made the most of our time there by eating a MacDonald’s (I hadn’t had a Maccy D’s for over 4 weeks, I deserved it) and watching the numerous street entertainers perform. In the afternoon we said goodbye to Mirja and started to make our way back to Clare.