March Journal

Since we decided just last night to stay for another day, we had to move from the Vintage Motor Inn to a local campsite. The guy at Reg Drayton Winery helped us to find a campsite with availability. So we drove up to the Mt View Tourist Park around 10:30 this morning. In these campsites, the cabins and the powered sites always get the best spots. We tent-campers usually get the back lot. So we were a good walk from the bathrooms, but we didn't mind. The tent field was nice and spacious, and there was a little line of vines growing along the back wall. Across the field, there was a rodeo going on in a large building. We could hear the announcer talking about the horses and the riders. Pretty funny!

We went back to One Broke Winery for another baguette lunch. Our sandwiches were so good yesterday that we decided for another round. Jon did a tasting while we were there, although we thought the wines were a bit too "mass produced". (One Broke is a large-scale winery). After the lunches were ready, we took them to some picnic benches at the shopping center and ate in the shade.

We stopped by McQuigan Cellars because they have - in their complex - the "Hunter Valley Cheese Company". There, we tried about seven different cheeses: brie, cheddar, goat cheese, and dips. And oh were they delicious! We bought some cheese called "Whiterind Cheese" that's lighter than brie but of the same genre. It was a nice break from wine tasting.

At the Cheese Company, there was a separate room for tasting various olive oils, mustards, jams, and sauces. Jon decided to taste one of the latter which boasted "10++ Very Very Hot". Of course, he asked for a sample. Next thing I knew, I was being dragged off to the McGuigan Wine Cellars for some tasting just so he could get the taste of the hot sauce off his tongue!

Winery	Tasting Notes
McGuigan Cellars www.mcguiganswines.com.au	This is a very large winery, filled with tour busses of people. We tasted just so Jon could get the hot sauce off his tongue. But we ended up liking the port, although we didn't buy it.
JYT	Owned by Jay and Julie Tulloch, which they started after Jay "retired" from Tulloch Winery. We talked with Julie for a while and tasted their whites. They also had a "pink" which we weren't too crazy about.
Drayton Family Wines www.draytonswines.com.au Email: drink@draytonswines.com.au	Drayton is owned by the cousins of Reg Drayton Winery. I tried the whites and Jon tried the Reds and ports. We bought the Reserve Chardonnay and a Shiraz. Jon also tried a "Maxwell" Shiraz and wondered out loud if the wine had gone bad. One of the tasters agreed and thanked Jon for letting them know. (Many tourists just assume it's not a good wine and put it aside).
Lowe Family Winery www.lowewine.com.au Email: sales@lowewine.com.au	We went to Pepper Creek Antiques and admired a gorgeous old rocking horse. Next to the antique store was Lowe Family Winery. I was "all wined out" so Jon did the tasting and bought the Shiraz.
Mount View Estate Email: mountviewestate@bigpond.com	It was nearing the end of the evening, but we loved the Chardonnay, the Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Tawny Port.
Peterson's Wines Email: petersonswines@hotkey.net.au	Loved the '99 Cabernet Sauvignon.

At 5:45, a shuttle bus picked us up at the campsite and took us to Reg Drayton Winery where we were having dinner. There were about 40 people there, and most were Aussies from Sydney up for the weekend. Robyn Dratyon, owner of the winery, walked us through some of the business aspects of running a winery. We literally took a "sunset stroll amongst the vines" as she answered our questions and talked about harvesting.

Before dinner, we sat at the tables and did a wine tasting. Robyn introduced us to the new bottle labels, of which we are some of the first to see. She told us the story of how she came up with the idea of the labels, which are dark colors with a light rose pattern. It turns out that she was in bed stressing about finding a new design (the winery couldn't afford a designer), when it suddenly hit her: the floral pattern on her sheets was exactly what she was looking for! The end result is a light and delicate brocade pattern in different colors depending on the wine. I love being privy to insider information like this!

After the tasting, we all went to buy a bottle of wine for dinner. Jon and I opted for the Cabernet Shiraz, which was a very smooth red wine. During dinner, we sat to the right of a group of seven people from Sydney who gave us great suggestions for what to do when we arrived in Sydney. On our other side were two couples from the Central Coast who cracked us up the entire evening. Don and Julie Butler and Glen and Jan Lawrence have been next door neighbors for the past three years and are obviously great friends. Don just retired, and he and Julie are preparing to leave for three months in New Zealand. While they're gone, Glen is going to mow their lawn. How's that for friendship? I don't even know the names of our neighbors in NYC. Anyway, the four of them were quite the characters and definitely made the evening for us.

For dessert, we were served cheese and grapes, along with a tasting of three of Reg Drayton's ports. Jon and I have developed an affinity for ports recently. And as I told Jon today, now that we are the proud owners of two ports, he has to take me to Ireland so I can buy some port glasses from the Waterford Factory. Next month, maybe. :)

For those of you playing along at home, we have - in the last two days - bought one and a half cases of Australian wine. One might ask why. One might also ask how we're going to get it all home. But one should not expect an answer to either of these perplexing questions.

We left Reg Drayton around 11:00, after chatting with Robyn in depth about the winery. Jon used to say that he wanted to run a winery someday, but I think that Robyn's stories have removed some of the romance involved in that idea. It sounds so glamorous - working amongst the vineyard and knowing wines inside and out. But the bottom line is that Robyn hasn't had a day off (not even weekends) since last August. Her average day is from 7AM-2AM. And she has three young boys to raise, too. It's a tough job, that's for sure.

Back at the campsite, we showered and curled up in our sleeping bags. Across the massive field, the rodeo-goers were partying late into the night. It definitely sounded like they were having fun, and it didn't break up until about 3:00AM.