That day our first destination was going to please my wife rather than me - we were going to MONA, Museum of Old and New Art. It was mostly known for N rather than for O, and I, being no fan of modern visual arts, expected to spend our time there with "Yes, darling" mask on my face. However, I was delighted to discover that the museum owner thoughtfully placed it in a vineyard. In a real vineyard with a real cellar door! I din't know if I would have stomach for wine after New Art so I set the priorities accordingly - first, the winery, then everything else.
The place was called Moorilla. A modern building, sleek design and wine bottles with stylish black-and-white labels lined up on the counter. At that time I didn't realise that they would, almost literally, give me a taste of what to expect in the museum. In cellar doors I usually try to buy either good or unusual wines - they had both. I'll tell you about the latter - it was 2011 Muse Cabernet Sauvignon with smoke and capsicum flavours. Capsicum was explained by early harvest (which later appeared to be a distinctive feature of southern Tasmanian vineyards.) I wondered where the smoke came from - if it wasn't a bushfire then they should be careful not to hire smokers to harvest grapes. When I mentioned it to the girl who conducted the tasting, that young rosy-cheeked lady said that the wine's smokiness reminded her of Laphroaig... I looked at her with new interest. My wife once told me that she became a centre of attention and almost gravitational attraction for all nearby males when she sauntered in a shopping centre carrying a bottle of Johnny Walker's Blue Label. Obviously, there is something about proximity of women and whisky, geographically or even in a sentence, that arouses men's interest.
Having finished with cellar door business we headed to MONA.
Having finished with cellar door business we headed to MONA.
