A nice leisurely start to the morning with a coffee and a bowl of cereal that I had brought from Tall Trees Motel. I came up with my plan of attack for today. This involved ignoring all the advice that I was given yesterday. As temperatures were as low as 20 degrees up here I set off with flip flops on to my first winery of the day. Hahndorf Hill Winery. Located only half a mile from the township this was the easiest of the wineries to get too. Walking in there were some Magpies trapped in the nets protecting the vines. Apparently they have an eye for the Pinot grapes. I surprised Sloan who was busy sweeping the steps as I wandered in. I don't think she was expecting anyone bang on 10:00 on a Monday morning. Here the focus was on Austrian grapes and they had won numerous international awards. My favourite was the desert wine Green Apple. I left here at 10:20 and walked down Paid Road towards Nepenthe. Guided by google maps and road signs this took almost an hour to walk too. The entrance then doubles back on the road adding to the distance walked. Animals on my walk through the vineyard this time were three Kangaroos, just chilling out. I arrived at a good time as a group of seven were just leaving and a smaller group took there place. I spent quite sometime here trying the full range of wines. Quite a few of the Nepenthe wines are available in the U.K. & hopefully there should be more available soon. I purchased Biz Cool shirt before leaving. The lady working told me of a short cut on the way back, if I jumped the fence I could save half a mile's walk to Shaw & Smith. If only I knew this on my way in! I enjoyed the short walk downhill to Shaw & Smith. Here I had to pay for the tasting so I added the cheese matching. Sitting out overlooking the lake it was very peaceful.
Walking to my final winery proved quite a challenge as the fastest route had a sign next to the road warning people not to trespass. Even though it is a state road. Perhaps residents have out the sign up to stop people driving through following their Sat Nav's. This meant I had to walk two miles uphill to the Lane winery. The sun had come out now and I was feeling the effects of the wine I had previously imbibed. When I arrived Lunch was fully booked, so I pulled up a chair for the Heritage tasting. For $15 this allowed me to try their Gathering club exclusive wines. My favourite was the Cab Sab that I checked on Vivino was available for purchase in the UK. They also rated this wine as being in the top 8% in the world. Of course I had a glass after my tasting. As luck would have it an uber X was nearby, as I don't think I could have done the forty five minute walk home, as I had covered 7miles by this point.
Getting the uber back also gave me time to pop into Hersey's cellar door just before it closed at 17:00. Where I met a local couple who were doing their wine pick up for the week from Somerled across the way. The girl working had her tiny puppy with her that seemed very at home in the place.
I had to pop back to Somerled to try more of their wines. After chatting at the bar I was invited to join a group that included the owners & friends. I did get a glass of Shiraz for free here, but thankfully there was not repeat of Heritage Wines.
Felling exhausted I decided to try the Buffett dinner at the Old Mill & that was tasty and good value for money. $30 including a pint. Having eaten my fill, I felt the need to sleep hit me hard and I took myself to bed at 20:15. After covering just under 8miles on foot round the vineyards I think this was fully justified!