Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Vineyards

In all my travels I’ve visited many wonderful vineyards. Near Sydney we have the Hunter Valley which is famous for its full-bodied Shirazes. Near Melbourne we have the Yarra Valley which, among a wide variety of wines, offers wonderful Pinot Noirs. Near Adelaide we have the Barossa Valley which has some delicious Cabernet Sauvignons.

I took the first photo at the Barossa, South Australia. I took the second photo in the Mudgee region which is situated about four hours inland from Sydney, New South Wales. The different seasons are evident.

 



Do you have any vineyards near you? Have you ever gone wine tasting? If you like wine, what’s your favourite drop?

Note: For the month of April during the A-Z Challenge I am pausing from my usual blogging theme of writing and social media tips. Instead I hope to share with you my photography. Much of it is inspired by the fabulous and helpful site, The Bookshelf Muse. Please check it out and enjoy.

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42 comments:

Cynthia said...

Here in the Bay Area, many locals like to go to Napa/Sonoma for wine tasting outings. Years ago, I took a wine tasting class and it was a fun and educational experience.

Nick Wilford said...

There's certainly a difference between those photos. I've not gone wine tasting, but I like a bit of rose (don't know how to do the accent on here). Some think it's pretentious, but I reckon it's like getting a little bit of red and white at the same time!

Theresa Milstein said...

I'm a big fan of shiraz. I don't think New York and New England on the east coast of the US is known for their wine. It's more of a west coast climate. But when I attended college, a vineyard was along the way. Your picture reminds me of it.

Old Kitty said...

Anything alcoholic is fine by me!
:-)

Take care
x

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

The second shot is definitely late fall or winter.
We have quite a few vineyards in the area and we go wine tasting once or twice a year. I like the old standard - white Zinfandel.

Katie O'Sullivan said...

We have a few vineyards here on Cape Cod, and I love to visit for festivals... but the wine isn't really my favorite ;-)

Charmaine Clancy said...

Got my favourite Curly Shiraz when visiting Big Hill winery in Bendigo. They do make for pretty landscapes.

Denise Covey said...

My last holiday was to the Margaret River Winerys. Boy was that fun with 120 Winerys in the Cape region. Didn't make it through them all, lol, but did pretty good. My favourite drop from over there was the Evans & Tate pink sparkling moscato. Heavenly. I'm a champagne girl always.

Denise

Tonja said...

I love your writing posts. Your A-Z posts have been amazing, all of them.

Jay Noel said...

I live in wine country out here! So many to choose from. I like to go to one out in Defiance, MO. Just gorgeous!

Luanne G. Smith said...

I never would have thought we had the climate for it, but the southwestern mountains of Colorado have turned into wine country. Several vineyards have sprung up and are doing well. I visited about two years ago. Love a good pinot noir.

Rebecka Vigus said...

Some of my favorite places to visit are the vineyards that cover our nation.

Marta Szemik said...

I live near the Niagara Escarpment and they have many wineries and vineyards there. I used to drink ice wine, but now I can't have any alcohol due to severe migraines. It's like I've been cursed.

DEZMOND said...

my Vojvodina is famous for vineyards and wine. But I'm not a wine drinker, I don't get wine, beer and coffee :)

Tracy said...

Lynda,
We actually do have vineyards close to us where they have wine tasting facilities but I guess I just take them for granted and don't frequent them...now that I think about it!
Great "V" word...

Loree Huebner said...

We live within a few hours of some vineyards. I like a dry red.

S. L. Hennessy said...

My friend just got married at a vineyard in Virginia. It was beautiful!

Carol Riggs said...

Great pics as usual! Oregon has a TON of vineyards, let me tell you. Up and down the Willamette Valley where I live, it's perfect temperature and climate for vineyards, apparently. :)

Anonymous said...

I did wine tasting once, on a cruise ship. We were sitting in dock. This cruise was my hubby's and my honeymoon. The wine tasting was fun, but once the ship got underway I wasn't feeling too good by dinnertime. It probably didn't help that my eyes kept getting drawn to the porthole where I could see the waves going up and down. Not a great first night. : )

Laura S. said...

Hello, Lynda! Your photos are beautiful. I've never gone wine tasting but it sounds fun and tasty!

Have a lovely week and happy A to Z!!

Mary Aalgaard said...

I really like a variety of wine. I can drink a chianti or a pinot grigio. It just depends on my mood or the food. We do have a small winery near us, but it is not common in the midwest USA.

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Unknown said...

Beautiful. I don't have any close to me but I have been to some in California.

Nancy Thompson said...

I used to live among the vineyards when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, where most of the world's chardonnay is grown. It was beautiful, and I miss it!

DL Hammons said...

I've never been to a vineyard, and there aren't any near where we live. I would like to tour one sometimes, maybe when we visit the west coast next time. :)

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...

No vineyards close to me now. In Wisconsin, it was always fun to take a drive up to Door County for apple and cherry wine. Port is my choice for a nip at home, white Zin when out.
http://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com Theme: A World of Crime

Rosalind Adam said...

Gosh. That sounds so romantic. We don't have many vineyards in the UK and there are most definitely none near Leicester. We've got fields of cabbages but that's nowhere near as romantic.

Nate Wilson said...

I'm not really much of a wine drinker, but my wife loves the stuff. And on our honeymoon in New York's wine country, I actually found some reds I enjoyed. (I'm a white guy in more ways than one.)

Anonymous said...

Yummo, I love wine.. We are near tambourine mountain ...loads of wineries. I went wine tasting with my friends last month. Many of the wineries have vineyards over the boarder, not the best climate to grow grapes here.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Oh yes, I first discovered the White Zinfandel at the Napa Valley. It's not so easy to get in Australia though.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

now we're talking! I love champagnes too

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

oh my gosh! That must be horrible! It's better than migraines, I guess :(

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yeah, I don't get beer or coffee either. Wine was an acquired taste over time.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

You'll have to take me there if I ever visit ;)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

oh no! I'll be heading off on a cruise soon. Hopefully I won't get seasick.

Denise Covey said...

They offered us plenty of Zinfandel in Margaret River Lynda. Look out for it. D.

Teresa Cypher said...

Wonderful post. One year, as a mission ;-) I set out to taste different kinds of wine at home. Each night, my husband and I walked up the lane to watch the sunset. I carried a basket with the wine bottles, the corkscrew, and two wine glasses --unless we had company to watch the sunset with us. My husband carried the folding chairs; we made an evening out of it. It was quite relaxing. I learned that summer that I don't really like wines--with the exception of asti. I can't distinguish "notes", lol... and that "shiraz" wine is most likely called that because the people who took the syrah grape from France to grow in vineyards in Australia--mispronounced the name, calling it shiraz. I have not researched that. But I did read it on a magazine published by our "State store" system in Pennsylvania, USA. Yes...the government and State Liquor Control Board control all such things here. :-)

And...right now, I have a bottle of Yellow Tail on my wine rack. I think that might come from your neck of the woods ;-)

Interesting post. :-) Thanks for the memory prompt. :-)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I found it once in Sydney and bought a case, but I haven't been able to find it again.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yep, it wouldn't surprise me if us Aussies mispronounced the french word. I blame our ocker accent ;) I've heard shiraz pronounced so many different ways here too. In the snootier places I've heard it pronounced, shirah. Now I know why!

J.L. Campbell said...

I've never been in a vineyard. :(

Pat Tillett said...

I live in California, so we have an amazing number of vineyards here. I've only been to a few, but I sure do like wine...

Unknown said...

My favorite vineyard is in Tuscany, near Montalcino. The author Ferenc Mate and his wife run it. He wrote a book about it. We got to visit a couple of years ago and taste their award-winning Brunello. http://www.matewine.com/

Suze said...

Oh, wow. The contrast is extraordinary.