This week marks the 6th week that I have been in Australia, and it did not disappoint. I started my week off with a presentation about Ramen in my contemporary politics class. As always I knocked it out of the park. After class, Trev and I went to get a huge bowl of Ramen to celebrate. It was awesome!
The rest of the week was pretty chill until we got to the weekend. The weekend we had a planned visit to the Hunter Valley region of NSW, which is one of the many wine regions in Australia. Shout out the Bucknell alumni who donated so I could enjoy this new experience. We hopped on a bus and drive two hours to Brokenwood winery. This place was massive. At first I did not know much about wine and the process of making wine, but the sommelier quickly introduced me to the different wines ranging from whites to reds to dessert wines. I learned that whites are very well paired with a seafood dish and reds go well with red meats like steak. My favorite wine from them was the desert wine which gave a sweet honey like flavor and was the perfect way to finish the tasting.
Then we traveled down the road to another winery called Ernest Hill. This was a small vineyard with a very homey vibe. The tasting was very intimate. It was here that I developed my palette and ability to recognize the different flavors and smells that each wine gave. The citrusy scent and flavor of the white wine to the deep dark color and cherry, jammy, fruity taste of a red, it all was a great learning experience.
Between the first and second day of tastings I went on a run to explore Newcastle, which was the place we were in. This city was so cool. It reminded me a bit of a suburb of San Fransisco. I got to see the amazing pool and beach. They even had a surfing competition going on, which I sat down to watch a few runs before heading back.
Then it was time for the third Winery. This is where I would really test what I learned. I tried every trick I picked up (aerating the wine, looking at the color, and tasting) to try and describe the flavors and scents and guess what type of wine it was. At the end I was still pretty unsuccessful in my guessing, but I still could pick out the dryness and scents that I picked up. Which meant my pallet was developing. It was an incredible experience.
