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food&wine "The tour includes a peek into the workings of the vineyard, followed by wine-tasting straight from the barrel." Top and above: Enjoying wine under the vines at Red Poles; art classes at Red Poles. Lunch is a leisurely two-course meal in the tranquil gardens of Red Poles, followed by a guided art gallery tour. The gallery hosts a new exhibition every six weeks involving several artists and a cross-section of media such as painting, printmaking, sculpture, jewellery and glassmaking. If you have time, it's worth signing up for one of Red Poles' art classes. There are classes designed for beginners, and instructors ensure participants leave with an artwork that is good enough to hang on the wall. "The art classes came about by popular request. Visitors enjoyed browsing through the gallery so much, they started asking where they could go for lessons," says Miller as she shows me through the gallery. Down the road at Sabella Vineyards the tour includes a peek into the workings of the Petrucci family's vineyard, followed by winetasting straight from the barrel. Born in Italy, Giuseppe (Joe) Petrucci moved to McLaren Vale in 1976. Sabella's 44-hectare vineyard in McMurtrie Road produces high-quality, awardwinning wines that are exported to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA. Another winery, Primo Estate, has an uber-modern cellar door and tasting room that looks like a designer's showroom. The furnishings are European, the light fittings were made in Treviso, Italy, and the outdoor wood-fired oven was imported from a village in Umbria. I taste the Joseph range of wines, which are made using Italian winemaking techniques. I'm also served the winery's extra virgin olive oil, Italian grana padano cheese and crusty bread from the local farmers market. 33