Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
patients. Within 20 years it was producing
500,000 liters (132,000 gal.) a year. By the
1920s, half of all bottles of wine sold in
Australia were from Penfolds, which had
by then expanded to include extensive
property in the Barossa Valley. In 1955
came a major turning point: Penfolds pro-
duced Australia's first fine wine, a Syrah
(or “shiraz” in Australia-speak) called Pen-
folds Grange. It went on to win 50 gold
medals around the world; wine writer
Hugh Johnson called it “the only `first
growth´ of the southern hemisphere” (a
reference to France´s most elite ranking
system), while wine critic Robert Parker,
Jr., called it “the world's most exotic and
concentrated wine.” The wine became so
influential, other wineries around the
world began to mimic the Australian word
Shiraz to describe Syrah, even though
their wines were made with Syrah grapes.
Australian wine has conquered the
world, with Penfolds leading the charge.
Its flagship operation, The Grange, is
located 15 minutes outside Adelaide, the
sunny capital of South Australia. You can-
not miss the winery's tall white chimney-
stack, with “Penfolds” written large and
vertical. Here you'll find 60-year-old Shiraz
vineyards surrounding the original stone
cottage, as well as a rock-walled winery
trimmed in red brick. Inside are the usual
tunnels and cellars, along with a port bar-
rel so huge you could throw a party in it.
Around the back is an ultra-modern glass-
fronted restaurant. The old still house
holds Penfolds' award-winning tasting
room, the Cellar Door.
Penfold's other main facility is 1 hour
north of Adelaide in the Barossa Valley,
the huge dusty, heart of Australian wine.
Here kangaroos jump old bush vines and
the hilly landscape of vineyards and long
dry grass is punctuated with German
architecture and restaurants. Penfolds
Barossa is a huge building first constructed
in 1911 with many extensions, including
reputedly the biggest cellar room in the
Southern Hemisphere.
The Barossa valley facility offers a spe-
cial blending tour—a tour of the vineyards
and winery, followed by a session in the
winery laboratory. You don a white coat
and listen to the instructor talk of the fasci-
nating art of blending, then make your
own blend, which is then bottled for you to
take home. The label will have your name
on it, beside the title “Assistant Wine-
maker.” Will you come out knowing the
difference between Syrah and Shiraz?
That's for you to find out.
Penfolds,
78 Penfold Rd., Magill (
&
61/
8/8301-5569;
www.penfolds.com.au).
(
Adelaide International (17km/10 miles).
L
$$$
Majestic Roof Garden Hotel,
55 Frome St., Adelaide (
&
61/8/8100-4400;
www.majestichotels.com.au). $$$
Quality
Hotel Old Adelaide,
160 O'Connell St.,
North Adelaide (
&
61/8/8267-5066;
www.
oldadelaideinn.com.au).
Southern Hemisphere
360
Seppelt Winery
Old Skool Winery
Barossa Valley, Australia
Everything about Seppelt Winery is eccen-
tric. Polish immigrant Joseph Seppelt
founded it in 1851, making it one of Austra-
lia's most historic wineries. His son Benno
was fond of galloping around the estate on
a white horse with a violin strapped to his
back and an umbrella over his head. When
the winery went through a rough patch in
the late 19th century, rather than lay off
workers, Benno, who was now in charge,
