Last Saturday, we had our first experience of First Drop Wines and their homely cellar door, nestled in Nurioopta, Barossa Valley, and located right across from SA wine giant Penfolds. Needless to say, we were more than impressed with the range on offer and left the premises supporting worryingly huge food babies.
The fun-fuelled day began with a bus filled top-to-bottom with a bunch of bouncy bloggers ready to get snapping. Already exuding those frivolous ‘wine-tour’ vibes, our group was welcomed into First Drop to do a wine tasting straight out of the casks, giving us the chance to indulge in some of the freshest, most vibrant red wines we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing.
The First Drop set-up
Adelaide Social Network’s Callum representing the ‘spitting’ image of a water fountain at the wine-spitting comp
We participated in a ‘wine-spitting’ competition and, by participated, we mean sat back and watched the rest participate. It was a messy endeavour trying to spit wine the furthest, so we left that up to the experts (this new Review skirt ain’t about to get all stained up, now). A First Drop-branded measuring matt, which was once snow white, ended up stained a deep red-purple colour by the end of the game, representing the dreams and crushed hopes of all budding, wine-spitting athletes involved.
Our long lunch commenced as soon as we were seated and came paired with a wine-tasting of First Drop’s finest. Enjoying a Spanish tapas-style luncheon, we devoured anchovies marinated in extra virgin olive oil, lemon and parsley, a trio of olives, finely sliced cured meats such as prosciutto and salami, pan-fried haloumi, west coast prawns, locally caught calamari topped with aioli, spring roasted lamb racks, caprese salad and patatas bravas. Dessert offered a delectable array of mixed chocolates and creamy Sicilian cannoli.
Fresh, lemon-juiced prawns
Scrumptious ‘patatas bravas’ which roughly translates to cute, cube-shaped chips
Choccy and cannoli
The paired wine beverages came out in a sextuplet, naturally taking off with refreshingly crisp whites and ending on hearty, full-bodied reds. Our ‘first drops’ were the 2014 Mere Et Fils Adelaide Hills Chardonnay (parlez-vous Français?) and the 2015 Endless Summer, which was very appropriately named according to its flavour profile and presentation. The Endless Summer was packaged presenting a colourful sunset label and had us feeling warm, tropicana vibes despite the blatant rain pouring down on the roof. We would describe the wine as an easy-going, summer-loving, wave of euphoria with a crisp finish; who wouldn’t want to drink that?!
The 2015 Mother’s Milk was another easy-drinker and had in fact been First Drop’s very first blend. This delightful Barossa Shiraz is so satisfyingly drinkable that it goes down just like a ‘mother’s milk’ (well played, First Drop).
The Endless Summer
Our wine-tasting flight
Cheers to First Drop!
First Drop Wines embraces a sense of family-fun and a kind of cheeky, playful personality that you wouldn’t find at other wineries. The cellar door – or ‘Home of the Brave’ as they call it – is the perfect hangout for any friendship group or family looking for a little something different to the norm. A warning to all parents though: don’t let your kids get their hands on a pair of those First Drop-branded g-strings.
