Dinner at La Citta was outstanding from the service, the fried calamari to the ribeye. Our wine was robust and enjoyable despite being opened a tad too early (3-5 years).
From Melbourne we travelled southwest, first to a recommened vineyard just outside of Geelong (Pettavel) where we grabbed a few bottles. We left there to embark on the Great Ocean Road (gor) a twisting, turning sensary overload. Cliffs, sand,waves and dramatic views fill your eyes at every bend. Our goal was to get at least to the Bay of Islands despite the warnings that it would be at least eight hours to the Twelve Apostles, some 20 kms before the bay. Weather was distictively not Australian, cold, windy and wet, regardless we had a blast and actually made it to Portland before expiring. Of note beyond the regular GOR sights, we went to Otway Lighthouse, a good hour detour (there and back) where we not only witnesses the stunning view upon the old lighthouse but also got to see 18+ Koalas in their natural habitat (aka not a zoo).
Today was spent driving and sipping. We hit the Coonwarra wine region and spent time drinking and buying great reds from recommended winearies: Wynn’s, Zema, Mejalla and Balnaves. With cellaring in mind we snagged primarily big Cabs from the four estates.
With Adelaide in our sights we drove (still live kangaroo-less) to the Adelaide Hills where we will continue our wine tasting tomorrow.
