Last weekend I had the great good fortune of taking a two-day trip to South Australia. With only 48 hours to burn, our party chose the McLaren Vale wine region to visit, over the further afield Barossa and Clare Valleys. So glad we did.

McLaren Vale is only 45 minutes from Adelaide but feels like true country. The vineyards are huge and seriously established, and many familiar names flew by on the way to our first stop; the d'Arenberg cube.

Now this is no ordinary wine-tasting experience. The four-storey cube looks like a giant contemporary art installation from the outside but the inside is a wild, Wonkaesque trip. Huge fun. Up on the fourth floor we conducted our wine-tasting amid stunning views of the vineyard and beyond. The photo here was captured from the top.

Onward to Battle of Bosworth; a full 180 from d'Arenberg. Nestled inside a cosy stone cottage, tasters are greeted like family. Specializing in delicious organic wines, our party made a number of purchases. Stunning remnants of an old building onsite are captured in the photo below.

On to lunch at Penny's Hill where you couldn't ask for a more picturesque setting. The food was a delight and we savored every bit. Wine-tasting is also on offer at Penny's but we chose to dive straight into lunch (with wine of course).

While it's tempting to choose one favourite out of these three venues, I fear it would be a disservice to the other two as it was the diversity on offer that made the day so joyous. All hail McLaren Vale!