Coonawarra Australia Wine
A Taste of South Australia
By: Phoenix Arrien
It did look a bit like a cigar, I wondered as we neared Coonawarra in the east of South Australia. The vantage point I had was special, for I was being flown in a light plane to taste the best reds in the country after deciding to search for the ultimate ‘good life’. Being flown in a private plane is a good start.
The ‘cigar shaped’ strip of soil splattered with the rich greens of leafy grape vines, emerged from the broCwn South Australian landscape more distinctly as we decreased in altitude, the little Piper Warrior II thrumming it’s little engine like the little red caboose; ‘I think I can, I think I can make it to the ground.’
The distinct color of this slice of soil comes from the rich ‘terra rossa’ soil which lends itself to the growing of the grapes perfect for the rich full bodied red wine, which people come from far and wide to taste. Highly oxidized iron in the soil gives this 20 kilometre long and two kilometre wide area its reddish colour and at $100,000 per hectare (when you can get land here) it is a highly prized piece of soil.
Reaching the Mecca of Australian Reds our winery tours could not be carried out in a light plane. Ground vehicles are required and we decided to keep to our pact by touring these wineries in nothing less than a stretched limousine.
I never realized how fitting it is to climb out of a private plane and into the mighty purring leather clad comfort of one of the luxurious stretched limousine’s owned and driven by Ken Rucioch, from the glorious stable of Mt Gambier based Barron Limousines. It works! They go hand in hand (or wing in wheel)!
Ken’s sleek white car purred down the road to the airstrip, stopping to wait for us as we tucked Piper away for the weekend. Ken’s neat suited form welcomed us to the Coonawarra region and smiling with anticipation we climbed into the car and sunk into comfort and style.
It’s useful to travel with a local and Ken told us about wineries, people, places and events which characterize the area, filling the region with personalities and stories. The wineries he took us to were all individual in their atmosphere, wines and people, making it a different experience fronting up at each cellar door.
This is the reason I love boutique wineries. You get drawn into the winemakers’ passions (and all small winemakers I have met exude a passion spilling over into obsession) and become absorbed in quiet explanations about the fruit they grow and the wine they press, as the precious drops of their creations are carefully poured into your glass.
It makes the wine taste better…somehow more personal…then just opening a bottle of red at the kitchen table back home. You feel you are part of the creative process, which started as a tiny seed in the soil, nurtured to a green plant, carefully pruned, watered and fed.
The fruit, picked, pressed and then stored in the cool oak barrels of the cellars has reached its final resting place - your stomach - the final step, the ultimate goal for the whole long careful journey of the grape. And you can feel the journey as you drink!
I shall contemplate on this further over a slow glass of red and get back to you tomorrow.
Tags: , Coonawarra, Wine
