Drive in to the National Wine Centre - building looks like a giant exploding barrel - in Adelaide to meet Dr Tony Jordan.

Dr T is on a whole bunch of committees there. It's what you do when you retire apparently. (Good motivation to keep working, if you ask me).

He might now have retired from running Moët et Chandon's Green Point Sparkling Winery in the Yarra (he built the place), but the energetic Doctor is still roaming the global vineyard advising and being consulted. He was, after all, the Original Flying Winemaker! He IS The Oracle of Fizz. A God...he IS going to kill me if I don't shut up.

Suffice to say Dr Tony is moving quietly through doors closed to all except the most exalted and finding us some truly wonderful secret wines we'd never hear about otherwise. Try Homestead Brut or Beaton Track Pinot Noir.

We also met there Richard and Victoria Angove - fifth generation wine family, he, wielding a cricket bat. To psyche me up I thought. But no. Seems they grew up in the house next to Sir Donald Bradman here in Adelaide and knew him well. So probably Angove's is what 'The Don' drank? That should impress my Aussie Bro-in-Law who cares naught for wine... but cricket... Hey, that's serious!

I didn't have time to visit the Angove's place, so it was nice of them to come and see me. We posed for Jennie in the little vineyard next door in the Botanical Gardens, pretending we were up the far Barossa!

Then we rounded off our tour with a good lunch. Nathan Waks who makes our 'Baroota' (a name Aussie blokes find amusing) invited us to George's on Waymouth Street. Where we seriously broke our rule about not drinking until after work. Well, the restaurant had these magnums of his Killikanoon Shiraz and Grenache. Garlanded with so many awards and Parker ratings. His was selected by Parker to represent Australia in a Best Grenache's tasting he put on a his recent big Symposium in Rioja. And Jancis Robinson, no less (always a Goddess to me) reckons it's the finest she's ever had. Say "No" to that? We partook.

Nathan was 'till recently Principal Cellist for The Sydney Symphony Orchestra. But wine seems to have taken over. He and friends just bought the old Seppeltsfield winery which apart the other advantages of owning an icon, has stocks of every single vintage of port for the last hundred or so years!

Someone drove me home to McLV ...snoring I believe.

We did just pop round to make up with the Scarpantoni's. Perhaps I should just say I only joke about them being the Dangerous Scarpantoni's because they are actually the opposite. And they do seem to win award after award.

They were brandishing a huge gold cup this time. But their proudest recent coup was to have carried off the Sauvignon Blanc trophy against a massive field of New Zealand's finest Sauvignons. To make a Sauvignon to beat the Kiwi's ... in McLaren Flat ... that is just amazing. It is a superb wine. Even Jean-Marc would love it. They are modest enough to admit they can't do this quality every year. But they sure did in '09. Hope our Thomas gets us some.

Back at RedHeads we had a visit from The Good Doctor; Matt Brown. One of the key RedHeads gang who has found the hobby I suspect every doctor I know would just love to have. He stirs a stonking red tonic from the best, richest Shiraz. So rich it looks OK for transfusion.

And that really was that. No time for more. Couple hours sleep and on the redeye to Sydney.

End of a glorious - if short - trip, better and better wines, lovely people...despite their worries.

Tough times in the vineyards here.

A lot of this year's excellent crop will end up just dropped on the ground.

I look to all my customers to help ease their pain.

You do need to try this stuff. You loved it before. Now it's better than ever you thought. There's masses more variety and individuality than ever you thought. And they are giving it away.

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