Slow Food Movement
WHEN the ubiquitous yellow neon "M" of the popular burger store first appeared on the Roman skyline in 1986, journalist-poet Carlos Petrini saw red. He decried the entry of the fastfood chain as an affront to his country's cultural heritage and national passion, good food and conviviality.
Wineries
Before we left South Australia, my guide from Tranquil Travel Service, Maggie Yu, drove me through four of the 60 wineries at McLaren Vale in the Fleurieu Peninsula. Do these labels–d'Arenberg, Tatachilla, Hardy's Tintara, or Olive Grove—ring a bell?
Now most wine-tasting tour participants go for the wine. I, having no illusions whatsoever about my vino IQ, go for the wineries. Often surrounded by lovely gardens, they soothe the spirit with their peaceful pleasantness, as though to temper the exhilarating effects of the scents and flavors emanating from them.
The tour to Barossa Valley, however, had something more: flair. To set the mood (or was it pace?) of the day's experience, it started with a train ride—a leisurely 90-minute journey aboard a refurbished 1950s "Bluebird" series of luxury carriages. This was, one imagined, exactly how the Slow Movement would do it.
The idea is give tourists a feel of first-class rail travel in those days, when one could find on board, besides a formal dining hall, a beauty parlor and a post office! (The Adelaide Railway Station, where passengers board the train, is in itself a trip back in time.)
The carriages of the Barossa Wine Train are named after grape varieties, each with a mini-bar offering complimentary tea, coffee, soda, juice, biscuits, and, of course, wine from the region. I was assigned to Shiraz.
Decommissioned in 1990, the Bluebird train underwent a A$1-million upgrade in 1997 and was put back on the tracks as a tourist vehicle—an ingenious idea, one might add, as the wide windows allow a cinematic presentation of gently sloping hills, farmland and vineyards.
But in the rolling panorama, one could easily miss the creek where the famous Jacob's Creek wines got their name. Another point of interest is the Powerfield light aircraft airport, the second busiest airport in the Southern Hemisphere, where international airlines like Qantas and British Airways send their pilots for training.
Besides a tour guide's piped-in commentary, brochures and fact sheets are available in a pouch underneath each window. One, titled "Tasting Notes," gives suggestions on how best to appreciate the taste of wines. Here are some tips:
· On a warm day, sweeter or fruity flavors are more appealing to the taste buds; in cold weather, full-bodied red wines.
· Women must not wear perfume on the wrists and must wipe off lipstick as these scents blend with the wine, confusing the senses.
· Hold the glass by the stem, not the bulb, so as not to alter the correct tasting temperatures of the wines.
· To savor the flavors fully, smell the wine before tasting; there are sensory connections between the nose and the palate.
· Start with light whites, then the heavier varieties, then move on to the light reds and heavier reds.
· Drink lots of water between wines to counteract the drying effects of alcohol and also to keep the palate fresh so that the wines don't start to taste the same.
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