An American, a French woman, a Canadian, a Belgian, and a Dane walk into a winery. There’s no punchline because it’s not a joke.
It’s just how I spent my Saturday away from the hustle of university life and the city.
Through an organization called the Exchange Student Network, I had the opportunity to get out of Adelaide, Australia, and go to McLaren Vale, one of Southern Australia’s premiere wine regions.
McLaren Vale is an area of rolling green hills and more than 80 wineries. Many began as small family affairs and have since aged and developed, much like the wine they so generously put out for tasting.
The first stop on our three-part expedition into wine country was to Maxwell Wines. There, I met my disparate group from Europe and elsewhere.
Over glasses of white and red wine, we discussed politics, including "Brexit," which is the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. My fellow wine taster Tim Olsen from Denmark and I took the time to laugh at the “winter” weather of around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit that had many of my Australian friends hunkered down in coats and blankets.
It was refreshing. It also helped me think about my future travels.
During our wine tasting, Olsen and the other Europeans discussed how easy it is to travel within the European Union. In an hour or two, they can be in another country, staying with a friend they met on exchange or even on a wine tour like our own.
It didn’t matter what country we were from, what our majors were or what our political views might be. We could take a step away from our problems to enjoy the day and our drinks.
Each of us came from radically different worlds. As an American, I cannot imagine traveling only two hours and being in another country. For me, that might get you to the next town.
I also cannot imagine the world described to me by my French friend Clara of walking into a hospital and not receiving a personal medical bill.
It boggles the mind. And, I’m sure our American accents and our refusal to use the metric system are enough to boggle their minds, too.
But, at these wineries, all that mattered was the wine, the laughter and the conversation, and there was plenty of each.
At Maxwell, we also discovered honey wine, otherwise known as mead. After I had it served hot, it wasn’t hard to understand why it is the drink of Viking legend. Maxwell Wines was the only winery in the region that specialized in mead, and I was appreciative of that fact.
We then took a stroll across the road – literally across the road – to our next winery, Alpha Box and Dice.
That winery was a bit more “hipster” than I was used to, with its bar set up in a converted barn. It also had vintage seating and aged memorabilia sprawled across the walls in styles that might have been popular 15 years ago.
The décor and the wine certainly sparked our conversation.
This selection of wine was more akin to a story than a drink. One Chardonnay was entitled “Wightmare.” The workers told us it was named for a mythical horse that could supposedly transport you from one dimension to another. I don’t know how accurate that was, but it was certainly delicious.
Others were similarly named: “Siren,” “Tarot” and “Hercules,” to name just a few.
Our final stop after lunch was Leconfield and Richard Hamilton Wines.
There, we were blessed with a wonderful presentation of wines, including a sparkling red Shiraz that was sharp, clean, and if you weren’t careful, went right to your head.
And as my group and I sat down with our cradled wine glasses, it was easy to see why wine is such a prominent industry across countries and regions. There’s something about the experience that can bring out the best in people, if done properly.
Even students from around the globe with radically different experiences, ideologies and lives can come together over a glass of wine and find something communal to share, an experience over which to bond.
