Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/95079
drivetime sponsored by "We are introduced to Skillogalee's world-class handcrafted wines and superb local produce." Above, and below: Historical sights along the Stuart Highway; Skillogalee's winemaker, Dave Palmer, at work. are given keys to unlock historical sites, and with a guidebook to 65 others, including Redruth Gaol, Unicorn Brewery, museums and dugouts in the banks of Burra Creek where migrants once squatted, we explore the 11-kilometre driving trail. When night falls we dine on the verandah of a rustic stone cottage at the family-owned Skillogalee winery with Dave and Diana Palmer and some local producers and business operators. They introduce us to Skillogalee's world-class handcrafted wines and superb local produce. Dave and Diana's daughter, Nicola, is head chef and restaurant manager and she cooks exquisitely for us. I choose home-grown figs wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with goat's cheese, confit duck and vanilla panna cotta with rose-poached pear, blackcurrant coulis and raspberry sorbet, and my new best friend – Clare Valley riesling – with its zingy citrus and crisp, dry finish. Dave tells us about Skillogalee's history with infectious enthusiasm. "The cottage was built by Cornish miner John Trestrail in 1851," he says. "The property stayed in his family until the early 1900s, when it was planted with stone fruit and vines for dried fruit, currants and sultanas. In the 1950s it became a grazing property and in 1969 wine grapes were planted – early varieties of riesling, shiraz, grenache and crouchen." Skillogalee offers three accommodation choices: Skillogalee House, Wren Cottage and Owl Cottage, which is ours for the night. Set amid hills and vineyards, it is laid-back, romantic luxury. At dinner we meet the delightful Katherine Maitland, who tells us about her wheat property, Anama Park, 18 kilometres north-west of Clare. "My husband Jim's family has traditionally worked the land for broadacre crops since 1866," she says. 23