Wine and Spirits Travel

Exceptional Kangaroo Island is not just the name of the tour company my guide Rob works for, it’s one of the words I’ve used to describe this place.  I fell in love with Kangaroo Island the moment I arrived and that didn’t change on day two. I spent the night at the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat .  I had to admit I was disappointed when I found out I wasn’t staying at the beach and concerned at the words “wilderness retreat,” but it turned out to be great.  It’s a fun place to be, with the animals wandering freely outside your door. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a gourmet eatery on site, The Nicolas Baudin Restaurant, where I warmed up with a spicy tomato soup, followed by the Pumpkin, Pine Nut and Ricotta Ravioli with Ginger and Coconut Chilli Cream Sauce.  It was delicious, as was the Raspberry and White Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding with Vanilla Bean Custard.  I relished the free internet in my room for awhile before all the fresh ocean air got to me and I

As excited as I was to go to the Australian Open and see Melbourne, after the turmoil that Oprah’s visit caused to my trip, the thing that kept me going (literally) was the week at the end in South Australia, especially my trip to Kangaroo Island .  Everyone I met who had ever been there couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful it was and every photo I had seen confirmed it.  Still, seeing is believing and I quickly became a believer. It was a quick 20 minute flight on Rex Regional Express from Adelaide to Kingscote.  Rob, my tour guide from Exceptional Kangaroo Island was waiting for me in the airport.  He had gotten the message that I was interested in going to some wineries and visiting the distillery, but since my tour was private ( the company will do anything from small groups to fully customized individual itineraries) he asked me what I really wanted to do.  It didn’t take me long to blurt out, “go to the beach!”   Rob responded that there were about 50 beaches to see on

My 24 hours started and ended in the same bustling place, on Rundle Street in downtown Adelaide , but it was filled to the brim in between. I met with Matt Guy, Marketing Executive NZ and The Americas at South Australian Tourism Commission for dinner at Sosta Argentinean Kitchen.  The specialty here is steak so I went for the filet, with a delicious mushroom and wine sauce.  Matt filled me in on all that was still to come on my South Australian trip, from the wine to the beaches to the variety of food, as we were experiencing right there on Rundle Street, one of the main thoroughfares of Adelaide.  Although the city is small enough that you can easily walk around, trams and buses run frequently throughout this area too, where the eateries are sprinkled with stores before you actually hit the “Rundle Mall,” an indoor and outdoor complex that houses anything you could possibly need within a few pedestrian blocks. In the morning I had breakfast at the Crowne Plaza and was ready to e

I had a great dinner at the Novotel with Jaci Thorne, Regional Tourism Manager Barossa Tourism.  She picked a bottle of Radford Dale Eden Valley Riesling since it was one of the places I wouldn’t get a chance to visit and it was a good choice, not to dry, with just enough citrus to keep its flavor.   I got some sleep and then it was off to another day of my Australian adventure around Barossa Valley , home to a lot more than just Jacob’s Creek . Chris of A Taste of South Australia picked me up at the hotel for my tour of the Barossa region.  He had a couple of plans in mind already and so did I.  As we made our way around Barossa, Chris pointed out some sites, starting with the memorial plaques on Commemorative Drive, the road my hotel was on.  It turns out the plaques were representative of the early settlers in South Australia .  We continued on our way with a quick stop at Grant Burge & Kroncort for some coffee, where we ran into the owners of Villa Tinto Winery, a small f