Because, for a start, we were looking at something different from our usual modus operandi when visiting a vineyard, which involves turning up, having a taste (and hopefully a bit of a natter to someone) and hopping into the car to move on to the next place.
In this case, however, we'd already sampled most of the range, and there were various catch up factors involved in whatever nattering was going to take place, so I'd neglected to add any other wineries in the area to the schedule.
A couple of points, though.
If you're planning a visit, be aware that the By Appointment in Halliday and other sources of information is exactly that. Arrive for a tasting and you'll be guided through the range, and if there's a session in progress when you arrive, you'll be cooling your heels on the verandah until the current one is finished.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, at least as far as Hughesy's concerned.
For a start the views from the winery are fairly spectacular, and you can take the time to consider the effort that's gone into transforming what Steve Doyle has described as a windswept hillside desert (or words to that effect) into the vineyard vista before you.
