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| A couple of weary cyclists tasting at Chambers winery |
If you are near Albury-Wodonga and have a few hours or even a day to spare, why not take a turn off to Rutherglen and experience some of the wines this region has to offer. Unlike some other regions, Rutherglen has been left mostly untouched by the boom in wine tourism that has hit elsewhere. This has resulted in a friendlier, more relaxed atmosphere, and you feel like the winemaker and staff are actually interested in what you think about the wines, and not just how much you're buying.
The other bonus of this is that wine prices continue to remain modest, and there are plenty of decent table wines to be had cheaply for immediate drinking and short-term cellaring.
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| A couple of weary cyclists tasting at Chambers winery |
While the table wines are improving, few people have heard of Rutherglen as a wine region without hearing about the Muscats and Tokays. If you have ever had the priviledge of tasting a Chambers Rare Old Tokay or Muscat, or a Campbells Isabella Tokay you will have some idea of what I am talking about. The intense, concentrated flavours of these old fortified wines need to be experienced to understand what the fuss is about with these styles. You may be lucky enough to get a taste at the winery, otherwise, like me, you might as well start saving now!
The Rutherglen area is fairly flat and as a result touring by bicycle is feasible. Some of the outer wineries may be a bit of a struggle to get to although none are impossible.
While I still haven't visited all of the wineries, the ones I most look forward to going back to are Chambers, Gehrig Bros and Pfeiffer's.
Tom Brennan : tomb@poboxes.com : last updated 980803