Winos

We've recently worked our way back to Sydney from South Australia. We stayed in Victor Harbor, Adelaide and the Barossa Valley. The Barossa area is well known for wine and widely considered to be the premier producer of Shiraz in Australia, if not the world. Ed and I love wine and have, on several occasions, planned trips around visiting wineries and tasting rooms both in the States and afar. We were psyched.

The Barossa lived up to the hype. There is a huge variety of wine produced throughout the region. The folks serving, particularly at the smaller wineries were awesome. The only assholes we ran across were at Peter Lehmann, a major player in the region. That is, the only assholes behind the bar.

By far the most painful folks we ran across while in the Barossa were North Americans. At Torbreck (amazing, if pricey, reds) a couple from Montana were tasting next to us. The dude owned a Vitamin company and was so obnoxious (in anticipation of a glass he'd had before, he said, out loud “this will be like an old friend”) that I was embarrassed for the cellar door worker who had to indulge him.

At Taste of Eden, a gorgeous tasting room for several of the micro-vintners who don't produce enough to have their own room, we were served wine by a gorgeous and fun former ballerina. We so enjoyed talking with her about the wine, and life, and her dog Max, that we were there for almost 2 hours. That is until the most obnoxious Canadian woman (I know, suprising!) showed up. As the husband sweetly tried to chat Ed and I up about New York and our trip, his wife barked “are we tasting or are we just going to talk?” about every 30 seconds. We quickly cut the convo short, said our good byes, and bolted.

In Australia, wine people aren't necessarily wine snobs. A lot of the cellar doors don't have distribution in restaurants or bottle shops, so folks come to taste and to shop. Most of the people working in the tasting rooms seem to love drinking wine more than talking about it, and very few people spit. This is a swallowing country, where its okay to get a little pissed on a bottle. The winemakers consider themselves farmers and the whole vibe is a super laid back rural feeling.

It was disappointing to witness our fellow countrymen taking pains to demonstrate their knowledge of wine to Aussies who really just wanted to pour it and sell it.  Note to visiting Americans: use your grape holes wisely - more drinky, less talky.  Alright?