This blog pretty much attracts no attention at all...*I like* =P
Mum came on last Saturday for 10 days and coincidentally, it was the Food and Wine Gourmet Festival at Clare Valley, which is approx. 2-hour drive from Adelaide.
So, a group of us decided to go and get ourselves
drunk some countryside fun! The weather was perfect - bright and sunny, thank God, since it has been raining all week. We went to a few wineries (Clos, Annie's Lane, Last Word and Seven Hill) before heading to the oh-so-famous Mintaro Maze just an hour before it closes.
We were too early for the first winery and they hadn't finished setting up just yet. =.=" People were just hovering around the frontyard, sipping on riesling (famous in Clare region) and reds. So we proceeded to the second winery, Annie's Lane (which is more lively). The 80s music was blasting so loudly that we could hardly hear each other. We had some gourmet sausage rolls, pies and salad for brunch prior to wine tasting.
Due to the festival, some of the wineries required us to pay for wine tasting...so that sorta keep us away since we're not too willing to spend on trying something that we would not buy. Last Word's wines were alright, let's just say it's not my type. The riesling is too sour and the shiraz is too spicy...Seven Hill was the last winery and probably the best we have been to...We almost skipped it because when I suggested it to my driver saying that it offers both free wine tasting and museum and cellar tour (stingy asians who want most of everything! =.="), he shrugged off saying that we would try some others along the way to Mintaro maze. Meh, he changed his mind as quickly as the mood of a girl. And we obviously did not regret going. The scenery was picturesque with a huge church standing magnificiently at the entrance way, looking out to a big vineyard. Tents were set up in the middle of the humungous frontyard, with the winery workers selling all sorts of desserts and preserved meats. I felt in love with the garlic infused olive oil...omg, it was sooooo goood!!!! I'm thinking of "investing" on a bottle soon...
We spent more time that we anticipated at the winery since we were busy tasting almost all the whites and reds on the list and trying to squeeze in some time to visit the underground cellar and museum. Some of the wine barrels are even as old as I am!!!! Antic!
We finally left with 7 bottles of wine to the maze...This is how the maze looks like!
The woodhead bf always think that maze is for kids and childish for adults =.=" He took his word back when we arrived!!! The maze is built with huge conifers since 1995 before the trees gained independence and started growing. Mind you, the conifers are so tall that we could not even peer through the other side. The task that was set for us was to reach the centre of the maze asap and answer a list of questions along the way. I guess trying to find our way while answering questions did manage to confuse our sense of direction.
We splitted into 4 teams and each took a different route at the entrance. We could literally hear but not see each other in the maze. lol. FUN!!!! And we found a few of this pants-down gnomes along the way...
We bumped into a father who was looking for his way to the centre of the maze with his cute little boy (who was already in the centre) hurrying him. (: Glad to say, the bf and I was the first team to arrive at the centre!!! ((((: Awesome team, we are!!!
