Out of the city and into wine country, and a beautiful country at that. I have to say, this has probably been my favorite weekend since I've been here. To set the scene: Picture a countryside filled with rows and rows of the just blooming spring grape vines in the many vineyards that extend up onto the base of the small mountain range to the west and as far as the eye can see. And a small country road winding through the beautiful region. Perfect for a Sunday drive. For all of those from Spokane, WA, image the Green Bluff atmosphere, but instead of orchards and fruit picking - vineyards and wine tasting.
Katie and I, and our friend Martha, who's from Tennessee, spent the weekend up in Hunter Valley, enjoying the scenery and drinking excellent
wine. We stayed at a great hostel, the Hunter Valley YHA (Youth Hostel Australia - there are tons of YHAs all over Australia). It was a small wooden lodging where we had a room meant for eight but empty except for the three of us girls. After arriving here we dropped off our bags and boarded the famous purple bus in which we traveled to the vineyards with a group of four other wine tasters and a lively and informative tour guide.We went wine tasting at four different wineries. All of them ranging in style/atmosphere from small antique farm like settings, to a Tuscany and Spanish feel and achitecture, to bigger industrial sized
wineries who produce ten times as much as the small ones and sell internationally. The largest winery that we visited, which may be familiar to some of you, was Lindemans. My favorite of the many wines we tasted that day was a Semillion, made by the Iron Gates Estate, year 2001. I'm sure that after this weekend I'm well on my way to becoming a wine connoisseur... or maybe not quite yet. :) We ended our tour at the most beautiful place called Hanging Tree Wines, where we sat drinking our glasses of wine watching the sunset over the mountains, turning the rows of new leaves on the vines a glowing spring green. Its hard for me to explain in words the sense of peace and quietness I felt here. I'm sure it had
something to do with the fact that I haven't left the busy and noisy city in over three weeks. But, it was exactly the calmness and stillness that my mind, body, and soul was desperately in need of. Then we finished off our amazing day at the hostel with yummy handmade woodfire pizza and a bottle of my favorite wine (yes, there was a lot of wine consumed that day), under a beautiful star-filled sky. I was beginning to think Australia didn't have any stars. I guess here you either have to choose the lights of a glowing Opera House and Harbor Bridge or the majestic, twinkling lights of the heavens (hmmm no favoritism there).
My body's internal alarm clock followed its weekly work schedule awaking me about six on Sunday morning, just in time to see one of the most amazing sunrises I've ever seen. The entire valley was filled with a low fog as the sun crept over the misty blanket, bursting forth into what would become a warm and glorious blue sky day. Perfect for relaxing in the Hunter Valley Gardens, surrounded on all sides by this beautiful wine country.
