By Keith Kellett

Barossa Valley, taken by Keith Kellett

I’ve lost count of the number of people who, when I tell them I visited South Australia, ask: Did you visit the wineries in Barossa Valley?” My usual reply contains the words: “bears” and “woods.”

Of course, the Barossa Valley isn’t the only wine-producing region in Australia … or even in South Australia. But, it’s one of the most famous. For, it was here that the early pioneers such as Seppelt and Gramp first planted vines brought from their native Germany.

Sometimes, in the Rhine or Mosel valleies, it seems like grapes are planted on every piece of open ground that isn’t absolutely vertical. It’s not like that in the Barossa.

Lorraine Kellett enjoying wine and snacks at Peter Lehamann's winery. Taken by Keith Kellett.

The older wineries are established in ersatz schlosses or faux chateaux. The newer ones can be in anything from purpose-built buildings to old farmhouses. The best view, I think, is across the valley from the Bethany Winery, near Tanunda, which stands on a slight eminence. The wine’s pretty good, too!

At most places, you’ll be offered a tasting. If you’re driving, it’s best to do just that, and take only a couple of sips.

Probably the best wineries are out along Tanuda’s Para and Seppeltsfield roads. The imposing Zenda-esque fake castle at Richmond Grove, with its slick, commercialised cellar door rather put us off. But, at Whistler’s Winery, in an old farmhouse, a lady broke off from working in the garden to see what we needed.

Keith leaving the Bethany with a bottle of wine. Taken by Lorraine Kellett.

The Barossa Valley isn’t only about wine, though. We had lunch … a platter of German-style sausage, cheeses, salad and relishes at the Peter Lehmann winery. The wine, incidentally, is every bit as good as the food.

Later, we had coffee at Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, on a balcony overlooking a placid, artificial lake. There’s a tempting range of foods offered, as well as relishes, pickles, preserves and olive oil. Mrs. Beer’s husband has a winery, too … but his wine, while not bad, isn’t outstanding.

Our last call was at the Chateau Barrosa … a mis-spelling and I believe it is deliberate – and not a very good pun. Yes, we tried some of their wine, and liked it enough to buy a couple of bottles to join the others in the car boot’s cooler. But, we’d really come to see the famous rose garden. There are nearly 30,000 roses there. And, it’s become so famous, they’ve renamed the road after the founder, Hermann Thumm Drive.

That’s is the connection between wine and roses. In Italy, they sometimes plant a rose bush at the end of a row of vines. The idea is that, if there are any “nasties” (bugs) about, they’ll strike the roses first, and the viticulturist can take any necessary action early.

We first saw this practice at the Mercouris vineyard in Greece. The vine-grower learnt his trade in Italy, and I believe the rose planting are also practices at other European and Middle Eastern wineries.

Earlier in the week, in the Adelaide Hills, attracted by the rose gardens, we called into the Chain of Ponds winery. Adelaide’s Corkscrew Road is one of the best wines I’ve ever tasted, and we bought a couple of bottles.

I told the lady about the roses, and she said she thought they’d just been planted because they looked nice. But, as we drove away from the winery, we saw another vineyard only a short distance away with a rose bush at the end of each tenth row of vines!

Vines and Roses, by Keith Kellett

No, we didn’t bring any of the Corkscrew Road home with us. It was so good, we’d drunk it all long before we got on the aircraft!

Keith Kellett is globalfoodie’s UK correspondent. He can be reached at: Keith@globalfoodie.com. For more of his work visit: www.travelrat.wordpress.com .