Icons: A Special Place

Let me tell you about a special place.

For every summer of my childhood that I can remember my family would pack the car to the hilt and head down to The Shack. When I say The Beach it only ever means one place. Aldinga.

I can't count the hours I have spent doing nothing but staring out at the magnificent horizon. Usually surrounded by fantastic family and friends.

Here is where the sun sets on perfect days. Where there is stillness. Where the year ends and we awake to new years and new beginnings. Here is where you know everything will be ok.

To me, Aldinga Beach represents so much more than sun, sand and surf.

Not everyone has a home, but I hope you are all lucky enough to have a special place that brings happy memories straight to the surface.

Do: MVBeer Dinner

Here are two things I believe in:

1. Always having something to look forward to
2. Beer

I’d been looking forward to attending one of the McLaren Vale Beer Company’s Beer Dinners since they announced their very first dinner way back in March (even though I lived in Melbourne at the time). It took a little bit longer than expected for things to fall into place but, when the date for Beer Dinner #5 at the Vale Inn was announced, I knew this was the one. My expectations were high.

Without hesitation I ditched my regular Wednesday night commitment and signed us up. Yeah there’s a booking fee but even including all hidden costs $75 for four courses per person is serious value for money.

Time from entering the Inn to beer in hand: one minute. Cheers to getting off to a flying start.
Starters were bought out as we stood and made small talk. And drank.

Before long we seated ourselves at the two long share tables. There was a little intro from Head Brewer Jeff Wright including a game of heads and tails, followed by first course being served. As each course was presented, Head Chef Jamie Laing spoke about the food and Jeff spoke about the accompanying beer. Jeff and Jamie’s bromance is clear. They’ve got it going on.

You don’t need beer goggles to make this look good. Oysters poached in smokey master stock and pork belly served on lemon thyme potato rounds. Paired with Vale Dark.

Quail stuffed with (heavily) spiced farrow, sweet potato puree, ruby chard and honey mead sauce. Paired with Sunner Kolsch from Germany.

Beer jelly(!) served as a palate cleanser.

Chef’s style beef wellington, duck liver pate, spinach and congo potatoes finished with dark chocolate. Paired with Lobethal Bierhaus Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. Brilliant.

 

It’s exciting to hear that Jeff and the team hope to hold the next beer dinner (tentatively scheduled for early next year) in the brand spanking new brewery. Already shaping up as a not to be missed beer event.

Passionfruit and vanilla bean panna cotta with strawberries and raspberry coulis.
Paired with Vale IPA.

I second that Great Things Happen After Dark, but I also believe that great things can happen anytime. Especially if great beer is on tap. Luckily you don’t need to wait for the next beer dinner to fully experience the charm of what happens within the walls of the Vale Inn. The taphouse and kitchen are open for beer tasting and food Thursday to Monday.

Connect the dots.

Day Trip: Wine Touring

Taking weekend visitors under your wing in Adelaide can only mean one thing: winery tour. But if you don’t have any visitors of your own in town this weekend, it’s perfectly acceptable to steal borrow someone else’s for the day. Put together a loose itinerary, get some drinks on ice, and then get going. That last part is important. Though not as important as packing good friends and good vibes.

Just a little bit of planning can go a long way. Here’s my handy five step guide to a great day out.

1. Choose your region. The beauty of Adelaide? You can rotate your way through the various regions as you rotate through visitors.

2. Decide on your venues. Just a rough plotting of points on a map will do. Or trust those in the know and from your first stop simply follow the cellar door manager’s tip of where to go next. And so on from there.

3. Book your lunch spot. Confirm your lunch spot. Allow for getting seriously behind schedule. It happens on every wine tour. Especially if you stop at the local taphouse. And then order onion rings, even though they're not on the menu. And inevitably loose track of time while sampling the new brew on tap. Mmmm VALE/DRK..

So program the restaurant’s phone number in your phone and politely let them know just how late you’ll be.

4. Get in the spirit. Ask questions. Taste something you ‘don’t usually drink’. Sign the guestbook. Take a few photos. Your memories toward the end of the day might start to get a little bit hazy.

5. On the way home? Crank the stereo. Break open some salty treats. Don’t be tempted to drink your nice new purchases, finish off the beers in the esky instead. And when you arrive back at your drop off point.. Don’t forget to tip your driver!