Winery Tour

Yesterday was the Winery Tour, a fundraising event for the Kindy. Numbers were small, only about 26, a victim of the Dunkeld Races, Casterton Show and the hot weather but it was a great bunch of people.

Caitlin and Mim stayed home alone, with strict instructions for Mim not to annoy her sister.

We left the Kindy all stocked up with a couple of eskies containing water, UDLs and some beer. Morning tea was at Penola - coffee and cake, and some of the girls went wandering around hte main street and found the lolly shop.

At 11, we boarded the bus again, ably driven by our hero, Bazza (husband of the Kindy mum organising the whole thing). Next stop was Rymill's winery, where we were greeted by Andrew Rymill and invited inside to taste the wines. There were some lovely drops there, so I bought the Traminer (a sweet dessert wine that wasn't sickly sweet) and the MC2, a red blend. Andrew and the lady helping were very friendly and it was a positive experience. We got a big discount on the wines purchased, even though the prices were reasonable anyway!

After Rymill's, we went to the Poplars for another testing and lunch. They also had cheese testing, so Michael and I partook of that ...mmmm, goat's cheese! The wine tasting wasn't as nice as Rymill's, with the man (owner?) insisting that the wines be tasted in a certain order, and how dare you skip a wine (even if you didn't like a particular variety). They were pushy and wine-snobby, which didn't help for their sales. Lunch was delicious though, a choice of an open steak sandwich, battered fish or caesar salad. Michael and I sat with Annie (the lady we'd bought this house off) and her friend Jane. We had lots of laughs over lunch, then it was back on the bus.

Next stop was Katnook. It was a smaller tasting area, so it was a bit crowded and we were pushed through the tasting quite quickly. It felt like you had to scull the wines to keep up! Still, the lady was pleasant enough. We didn't stay long, and I didn't like the wines enough to buy any of them.

We had a bit of time left before we were due at the last winery, so we headed back to Penola (after an hilarious three point turn on the highway after going in the wrong direction - I don't think we hit any of the grapevines!) so some more of the ladies could hit the lolly shop - purely to buy lollies for their mothers/classes /kids etc. The boys (all five of them) hit the pub for a beer and I wandered down the street, had a look in the lolly shop (lovely) without purchasing, and then wandered through the secondhand store. Lots of lovely things in there as well.

Then back on the bus and out to Patrick T for afternoon tea and yet another tasting. Everyone was merry by this stage and having lots of laughs. Patrick T had set up an afternoon tea for us, cheeses, dry biscuits, dips, chocolate cake, strawberries and honey biscuits - as well as tea and coffee. It was a lovely area, very friendly staff (Jane was trying to pick up the bloke) and somewhere I'd be happy to go back to. The wines were okay and Michael bought one, but I ended up buying some dukkah and lime-infused olive oil. They had basil-infused, blood orange-infused (very nice) and chilli-infused oils as well.

We finally got everyone back on the bus and Bazza headed for home. One last stop at Casterton, for a much needed toilet stop and to sample the wines from the Kindy range. We drew the raffle, first prize of a magnum (the large wine bottle, not the ice-cream) was won by.... the drunkest lady on the trip! Then back on the bus we went...... and this time Janelle got her wish and got to listen to ABBA on the way home. It was very naughty (and slightly illegal) but it amusing to watch some of the ladies dancing in the aisle, against the backdrop of the rolling hills between Casterton and Coleraine.

Bazza pulled the bus over at our driveway and Mim and Caitlin jumped aboard so we could all eat at the pub. The other pub, not our usual pub. Food was good, smaller serves than Julie gives but was still very nice. The kids played outside on the skates, trampoline and other toys until well after dark, then came inside and had a game of pool. It was very funny seeing four five year olds standing around the pool table, barely able to see over it, all holding their pool cues! Michael and I had a discussion with Tracey and Grant about the lack of service from Hamilton City Motors - they had a Pug disaster story to tell as well.

I drove us home at 10.30, having consumed plenty of water throughout the day I figured I was just fine. It really was a great day - and we raised about $600 for the Kindy!