Boxing Day and Beyond

It's the Boxing Day holiday which means the beginning of the Boxing Day test from the MCG in Melbourne from 1000 to 1800 and a Big Bash Twenty20 match after that. A full day of cricket on the telly and a day of virtual rest.

Our second period with a car begins the day after Boxing Day.  We've been upgraded again, and to the same monster soccer mom Toyota people mover.  Don't these folks know that you don't give monster vehicles to folks from whom right-hand driving isn't natural!

First stop is The Cube.

It is the creation of the winemaker at d'Arenberg and is every bit as bizarre as Chester. Sited on one of the highest points in McLaren Vale, from the top there are great views such as this one looking out on Gulf St. Vincent.

The biggest disappointment is that the wine sampling has become a commercial zoo and is no longer personal, where the people pouring get a sense of the customer.  At the original cellar door, once it became obvious we we're interested in the dozen's of entry offerings, we used to get older versions of the good stuff; and used to walk off with bottles of them.

It's now more a tourist attraction than cellar door.  You have to pay 10AUD for entry.  The weird bathrooms are touted as an attraction. Difficult to figure out how to get into them and even more difficult trying to determine how to exit (the bathroom).

 

They even have life-like statues of Chester and d'Arry.

Today being a hot one, Phil organizes for us to have a light cheeseboard lunch at Gemtree Winery, an organic and biodynamic vineyard and winery along with a tasting of their wines. We spend a nice afternoon with Phil and Lauren.

 

We pass by Samuel's Gorge to purchase a few bottles. They have upgraded a bit, but have generally kept the rustic nature of their cellar door which is consistent with its location.

By the time we return to the city it's time for dinner and we search Peel and Leigh streets for a restaurant. We return to Udaberri. Carol has an incredible gin & tonic, CJ a refreshing cider spritz and we dine on a marvelous octopus dish and a prawns & chorizo.