Xmas Eve

24th Dec 2010
A beautiful warm day in the Clare valley, leaving the caravan at the park we did an early last minute shop before Christmas in bustling Clare then returned to pick up our ordered cherries at the orchard only to discover half of Clare was talking about the large caravan that had got stuck up the orchard driveway the day before, hate to think how the story had grown by then but the lady gave us an extra couple of large handfuls of cherries to make up, little compensation for the damage but a lovely gesture and no ones fault but my own.
Following a self drive tour we travelled in a large loop through the scenic Clare Valley visiting a few of the numerous cellar doors of well known wineries two in particular were Sevenhill and Annie’s Lane. Annie’s Lane is a large and old established complex and here we were lucky enough to meet and chat with the current vineyard manager, being a tight arsed pom I didn’t purchase any of their wine as it was about $5 dearer than hotel outlets.
Sevenhill Winery was interesting, situated just east of the small township of Sevenhill it is the oldest established winery and vineyard in the Clare Valley, extremely picturesque the vineyard is centred around the huge and beautiful St Aloysius Church and has been owned and operated by Jesuit monks since 1851. The winery still produces alter wine plus many other award winning varieties. Public are welcome to Sevenhill cellar door where you can taste the wines, wander through underground cellars, watch a very interesting continuous video on the Sevenhill history or just peruse the tourist bric-a-brac, we purchased a small locally made fruit cake, heavy as lead and absolutely scrumptious.

Mintaro was another important stop, this is where we had lunch at the Magpie & Stump historic pub and is another one of those quaint villages. Established in 1849 it is something out of the English Dales and although now part of State Heritage and a tourist must, it is still very much a working area with abundant grain growing, grazing and vineyards. My lunch was a magnificent beef and Guinness pie.
Not far away and worth the $7:50 entry was a visit to Martindale Hall this stately manor built in 1879 was the home of Edmund Bowman, the son of a wealthy pastoralist who had it built in 1879 complete with a cricket pitch that hosted the English Xl, a boating lake, race course and polo field. Film director Peter Weir used the Hall as the ladies college in his 1975 film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. The place is still used as a B&B and hosts dinners and weddings so it retains is originality and is well worth a visit especially as you actually walk through the rooms looking at everything and reading an interesting description of each rooms items and their history, not just viewing each room from a door in a hallway like many similar places we have visited overseas.

Here’s a bit of trivia I’ve just dug up regarding Sevenhill.
In 1848, Jesuit Priests fled religious and political persecution in Silesia, migrated to Australia and established Sevenhill, 3 years later they planted Clare Valley’s first grapes and soon began making sacramental wine – although the priests were soon supplying settlers made thirsty by their labours in the field and copper mines. They are still making wines in the same cellar.
Later in the evening of Xmas eve we enjoyed an excellent meal at the popular Sevenhill pub.