by Margaret
E. Walker
Vale is such a lovely word I think.
It conjures up images of hills, valleys, creeks and green vegetation.
I think that this is why I prefer the old regional title "The Southern
Vales". Due to pressure from the wineries of the area, to establish
a regional wine profile, the title has been amended to the McLaren Vale
Wine Region.
What's in a name anyway? It remains
that these vales are carpeted with dark green swathes of grape vines,
with winery complexes dotted around the landscape. We also boast a couple
of Olive Groves and the remains of almond plantations on the Willunga
Hills. On one border of the valley the Onkaparinga river meanders down
from the Adelaide Hills through the Onkaparinga Gorge and opens out
onto a flood plain at Port Noarlunga where it enters the sea, or the
sea enters it at high tide. High above the valley is the bottom most
part of the Mount Lofty ranges, which at this point becomes the Range
and the Willunga Hills. In the late afternoon, the misty purple ramparts
run along behind the town, look benignly down on Willunga and run down
to Sellicks Beach to continue along the edge of Gulf St. Vincent. When
I worked in the plains city of Adelaide, I would drive up the hill from
Old Noarlunga each day and feel the temperature drop several degrees
as I climbed over the top and entered this lush valley. I would see
the ranges wreathed in cloud stretching down along the coast and know
that it was welcoming me home.
Our home nestles underneath a ridge
in the more recently built part of this town. McLaren Vale was established
in the early 1800's, although at that time it consisted of two small
villages, one named Gloucester and the other Bellevue. It is now a thriving
community, supporting the local wine industry. This region produces
some of the best wines in Australia, and even may I say the world. The
sense of pride we feel when seeing our wines advertised in a wine shop
in London is chest enlarging. They are on the shelves in the Who's who
of London stores, Harvey Nichols, where I am told "Absolutely Fabulous"
do their shopping, and are also seen on English provincial city hotel
wine lists.
The wine industry is the base from
which other smaller industries spring, such as Lacewood and its range
of gourmet sauces and jams, Medlow Fine Gels and their chocolate coated
fruit gels, The Olive Grove and its medal winning olive oils and The
Salopian Inn, where Pip Forrester has for some years created magnificent
food experiences for tourists and locals alike.
It is summer in Australia now, and
the vines are in their green garments, pregnant with heavy bunches of
fruit that will ripen over the next month or so. Wineries will be preparing
their crushing and bottling machinery for action now. Picking begins
in February and March when the grapes are full of sweet juice, with
tractors pulling wagon-loads of grapes making constant traffic on all
of the local roads, both day and night. In fact, these days most picking
is done at night using huge machines that shake the fruit from the vines
into a bin, then before it can deteriorate, it is off the the crusher
with the chill of evening on each juicy berry.
When the picking has been completed
the partly denuded vines gradually turn gold as Autumn works its magic,
and as the late autumn winds do their work, playing mischievously up
and down the rows of vines, the last of the golden brown leaves fall
and we see gangs of people among the rows pruning the vines to ensure
a good crop in the next season. The vineyards then stand like brown
sentinels marching over the countryside in rows, over the ploughed brown
earth of winter, but in Spring soft green buds emerge and the cycle
of life turns again.
Wherever I am in this region there
is beauty to behold. Summer sunsets over Aldinga Bay can be stunning,
the view from Willunga Hill looking down over the Onkaparinga estuary
is awe inspiring in the late afternoon when the silver river snakes
its way to the sea, and the green of Springtime vineyards in the early
morning with the dawn on the leaves and mist in the air, is heart stopping.
Is it any wonder that I am in love
with McLaren Vale, my home, and find this such an inspiring place from
which to do my story telling.
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