AFTER a day of grazing there was one more stop on the Rutherglen itinerary.
On the way back to town we took a detour to visit Ross and Kay Perry at their historic estate on a dusty hill near town.
The Perrys own Valentines Bakehouse - they have a few bakeries through the north of the state famous for a delicious sour dough bread - and they live in the historic Olive Hills homestead beside the road into town.
The antique homestead is magnificent with worn red bricks, ornate wrought-iron lace crowning the shady veranda, and weathered tin roof, and the grand dwelling seemed to glow in the golden afternoon light that fell across the baked red dirt surrounding the house.
Grape growing and wine making has also become a passion, and Ross is reviving the neglected vineyard that flanks the long driveway into the property when he's not baking bread at Valentines.
The family is slowly growing this satelite business, welcoming visitors on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to sit under the eucalyptus in the backyard and enjoy the wood-fired pizzas made by Ross while lingering over the property's menu of red and white wines.
The Olive Hills grapes are grown without the assistance of irrigation, with the original vines planted back in 1886, and I commented that I could taste the red dust in the robust durif that's considered to be one of the estate's signature drops.
I don't know if it was the proper thing to tell a proud winemaker, but I said it as a compliment because I could really taste the rustic location in the liquid, and that's something vineyard owners around the world strive for with every vintage.
