23 people attended the Abode Murrumbateman Motel and 4 in caravans on the 24th October for drinks and nibbles then dinner, prior to venturing out to wineries over the next three days.
Highlights included: the hotel itself, which was clean, comfortable, convenient and practical base for our tour; a good spectrum of cellar doors and tasting experiences; (including a surprise fudge tasting experience; the pleasant and highly skilled bus driver; and last but not least, the opportunity to get to know each other.

The Wine Guild previously visited Mitchell Wines in February 2009. This follow-up visit was hosted by owners, Andrew and Jane Mitchell and included a tasting of current and older vintage wines and a delicious lunch.

Guest speaker Dr Creina Stockley - The health effects of wine

Wine with Matched Food Lunch – at Coates Wines, Kuitpo. 3-course meal, with matched wines hosted by Winemaker, Duane Coates, finishing with a Barrel Select Fortified.

This event, at Lord Melbourne Hotel in North Adelaide, included a blind tasting of 6 chardonnay and 6 shiraz wines, led by Sue Bastian, Associate Professor in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at The University of Adelaide.

Dell'uva Wines in Greenock, has one of the largest collections of European grape varieties in Australia. Delluva Wines owner, winemaker and viticulturist, Wayne Farquhar presented “ITALIAN VARIETALS IN FOCUS”, followed by buffet lunch catered by Barossa Country Kitchen.

Christmas Lunch was held at the Public Schools Club, East Tce, Adelaide.
In addition to a festive lunch, there was a wine-related quiz which got everyone thinking.

The October visit was to Bleasdale Vineyards in Langhorne Creek. The visit featured a winery tour with 5th Generation family member Robbie Potts, wine tasting hosted by Senior Winemaker and 2018 James Halliday Winemaker of the Year, Paul Hotker, plus a delicious buffet lunch provided by Peechabella Catering.

This year's AGM was held at Lambert Estate winery in the Barossa Valley - a visit to a winery and a wine tasting rather than a guest speaker made a change from previous AGMs. Excellent food, generous wine tastings and log fires, plus informative talks from Jim Lambert, the owner, and Deb made for a very enjoyable day.

The June visit was to Ngeringa Winery at Mount Barker Summit in the Adelaide Hills. Here we were treated to some excellent educational input whilst enjoying a tasting of their extensive range of wines. This included some vertical tastings to compare vintages, some barrel tastings, and tastings from the “Egg”.

The regional tour for 2018 was to the Coonawarra, Padthaway and Wrattonbully regions.
As well as visits to Raidis Estate, Redman Wines, Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Zema Estate and Penley Estate, the Wine Guild were hosted by Padthaway Wine Region at Henry’s Drive Vignerons, Padthaway and Wrattonbully Wine Region Association in Schultz Cave, Treasury Estates Vineyard.

The first visit for 2018 was to Murray Street Vineyards in Greenock in the Barossa Valley. We were treated to a structured tasting including two vertical tastings in the function room, which was originally part of the old winery. The meal provided by Barossa Country Kitchen definitely had the ‘wow’ factor.