Indian Pacific Railway Journey II Barossa Valley (8/25/2025)

Monday, August 25, 2025

This morning the train continued through the Australian Outback, generally understood to be any part of Australia that is remote from the coastal cities, which is essentially 81% of the country. I am afraid we were lulled to sleep.

Lake Hart is a large salt lake (KSS)

A salt crust surrounds the lake

Wind farm

Lunch Main Course: Ploughman's Plate with smoked
Wagyu beef, chicken and cured kangaroo, Long Paddock
Raclette-style Banksia cheese, salad, and condiments

Lunch Dessert: Banoffee Pie (made with bananas, caramel
and cream with a biscuit/cookie crust and grated chocolate)
with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh blueberries

We left behind the arid red soil and traveled through
the Adelaide Plains, a centre of agriculture in Australia

A wind turbine blade in the town of Snowtown

The train stopped in Long Plains so that we could transfer to motor coaches for a drive to Seppeltsfield Winery in the Barossa Valley, a world-renowned wine region of Australia.

That's a lot of wine!

Our group went to the winery dining hall for
a food and wine pairing tasting

Our table setting for the tasting; note roasted popcorn

From left to right: Barossa Vermentino with Sugar-cured
Atlantic Salmon; Barossa Grenache Rose with
Roasted Beetroot with Cumin, Fried Chick Peas, and
Goat's Curd; Barossa Nero d'Avola with Smoked
Mushrooms with Basil Mayonnaise

A "signature" dining experience in the vintage wine cellar

Dishes were served family-style: marinated chicken
breast with basil pesto and crispy chicken skin;
eye fillet of beef with red wine jus

Honey carrots and roasted potatoes

Traditional green salad

Since 2015, Seppeltsfield has produced Prohibition gin;
Australia did not have a period of Prohibition like the USA...

The traditional "Firing of the Barrel" after
used barrels are taken apart, cleaned and
shaved, then reassembled

The Master Cooper torches the inside of the
barrel with a gas flame, as the heat
caramelizes residual sugar in the wood 
and the resulting charcoal layer acts as a
filter and contributes to the color of the wine

The Master Cooper does a final aroma test

Next: Indian Pacific Railway Journey III Broken Hill.