Light at the end of the tunnel!

Well, the caravan has rolled into Melbourne where tonight we are going to see Friday Night Football, the Australian Rules Football game that will attract 45,000 crazy fans. And, Australians are crazy about their sports. Talking to several different winemakers, they all have a favorite team. Tonight's game is a match-up between the Western Bulldogs and the Saints (I forgot the city's name). Anyway, it is a game that crosses rugby with football, played in four 20-minute quarters. And the Friday Night Game is our equivalent to Monday Night Football.

A couple of nights ago we went on a Bush hunt, which basically is a bunch of Aussie rednecks driving around the woods in their pick-up trucks with a spotlight looking for kangaroo. It was a blast! We almost got stuck two or three times, but we must have seen twenty roos.

And, yes, we have made a stop or two at wineries, our latest adventures taking us out of McLaren Vale and into the regions of Padthaway and Coonawarra. At Padthaway, we dropped in to visit Henry's Drive, one of my favorite Aussie wines. While most properties on our tour concentrate on Shiraz, as Henry's Drive does quite well, but they also have an incredible Cabernet Sauvignon. And we did a vertical tasting going back to 1998. It is becoming quite clear that if you ever spot a bottle of a 1998 vintage Aussie Cabernet on the shelf, buy it. It is the equivalent of a 1994 or 1997 Napa Cabernet. But Henry's Drive is also the home to Parson's Flat, a Cabernet-Shiraz blend (which is also d#@m good)Pillar Box (which they are releasing a new 2006 white blend which is out of this world and will be at the Ashe) and Dead Letter Office. Overall, one of the finest quality stops on the tour.

We then headed to Majella, located in Coonawarra, and tasted through their wines. Back some 30 years ago, Coonawarra was labeled as the finest wine region in Australia, along with the Hunter Valley. This cool climate region is suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, and the style is very Bordeau-ish. Nice wines, including a blended red called The Magician.

We had a long ride into Melbourne yesterday along with a visit with Buckshot and Lillypilly. Buckshot makes one wine, a Heathecoat Shiraz, and Lillypilly is famous for their botrytis wines. The winery is located in Riverina, which is best suited for growing Semillon, Riesling and Gewurztraminer.

Today we are off to visit Wild Duck Creek, Whistling Eagle and Red Edge, followed by the much anticipated footie game.