Wine tasting in Swan Valley...

 
One, two, three, floor. 

I don't really recall going to any wineries or vineyards and sampling their produce - the only things I've sampled are Madeira wine, whiskey (Old Putney, delicious), and maybe a few beers - so when a chance to go to the Swan Valley region in WA cropped up I jumped at it. Naturally. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I craved wine that had actually seen grapes instead of the goon (boxed/bagged wine FYI) we'd been drinking.... All 5 litres for $14.

 It was an absolutely incredible day. We drank, ate, laughed, and had a lot of fun as we were driven to three different wineries, one chocolate factory (where I lost miserably at a game of space invaders), and one place that sold various oils, vinaigrettes, chutneys, and some wines (I tried two of them).

 The first place we went to was called Sandalford Wines and it really was a 5* establishment, I loved it but there was a slight air of pretence about it maybe? That's just me because I prefer little cute homely places... Anyway. We tried various wines; whites, reds, rosés, and then a few of the dessert and fortified wines. All of the measurements were minuscule, literally a sip and you're done. A huge contrast to the next place!

 Oakover winery was totally different, there was a completely different feel to it - it wasn't all trussed up like a Christmas turkey and it didn't feel like you were being constantly watched... Measurements were extremely generous and the wine was also delicious. By the end of this one I think we were all feeling a tad worse for wear.... At least I was.... And it wasn't even midday.

Still, the chocolate factory - Whistler's Chocolate Company - was next for a few little chocolate treats... Back to the wine.

For the lunchtime winery we stopped by Windy Creek Estate which was my favourite by far. It was so cute, the extensive vineyards towards the back of the property, a big garden, quirky signs in the toilet (what? Small things amuse me), an old tractor and bike propped up outside, and an outside bar where the sampling was taking place. The chutneys were also delicious, as were the cheese and biscuits that were served up, and we managed to grab two bottles of wine plus cheese and biscuits for a little lunchtime treat (although in retrospect we probably should've had something a little more filling - never mind eh? In ode to Emma, "YOLO").

Aside from it being a sophisticated piss up I do think we all learnt a lot about the wines - what we liked, what we didn't, the characteristics of certain grapes, the process used to make rose wine (remove the skins of red grapes) which removes (or lowers!) the tannin content (something I did already know - not a wine connoisseur, just a self-confessed wino at times), and that our livers probably cannot handle that much alcohol before midday. Oh well, I still stand by the fact that it may count towards one of your five a day... Or maybe that's just in an ideal world.

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