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| A hill. Somewhere. |
I’m in McLaren Vale this week for the first ever #WirraCycleTour – a multi-day cycling tour of McLaren Vale put on by a contingent of local wine producers (including Wirra Wirra, Primo Estate and Serafino) intent on showcasing the region from another level – handlebar level.
A trade-focused event (publicans and restauranteurs in this group), I’m tagging along with this little bunch as it seemed like an excellent way to get to know McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills a little better (and I love cycling).
Normally you’d expect to see a few more wine media on a trip like this, but apparently there aren’t many other wine writers who think that riding bikes up hills is fun (clearly I’m completely mad/a masochist).
The trip hasn’t disappointed either, offering up a perspective-altering look at the Vale and surrounds. For one, it reminded about just how fuzzy the McLaren Vale/Adelaide Hills border can be. Look only at the photo below of Primo’s Angel Gully vineyard as evidence. It’s considered as McLaren Vale, even though you only have to travel a few hundred metres to be in the Adelaide Hills – though the altitude/soil type is no different.
You can witness similar peculiarities up on top of the Willunga escarpment (which I’ve never really explored before – now I’ve ridden up it a few times. The steep way) where one side of the road is McLaren Vale, the other Adelaide Hills.
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| Primo Estate Angel Gully vineyard |
As ever, the takeaway impression is that McLaren Vale is one serious varied region – much bigger, more divergent and with more steep roads than mosy people realise.
I’ll be reporting a few more tidbits over the next few days.
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| Angel Gully vineyard Sauvignon Blanc – still a way off |
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