What the hell were we thinking??!

That is a question that we asked ourselves more than once as we sipped and swirled and sweated and swore our way through the highest peaks of the Adelaide Hills in search of one thing: Adelaide Hills Chardonnay.

Chardonnay, that much maligned, most magnificent of whites, is the grape by which the reputation of the modern Adelaide Hills wine region was forged.

The great Chardonnays of this country (by price at least) for the most part have come from the Hills - Penfold's Yattarna, Petaluma's Tiers - these are $100+ Chardonnays, and no - price doesn't always mean a great wine, but it sure sets the bar and peaks the curiousity when one is in search of great wine.

There's one man who started it all in the early 80's. He and his wife Ann climbed the mountain and planted their flag 450m above sea level on a site called the Tiers Vineyard, and not long after that, a white wine revelation emerged, in the deliciously buttery, yellow-labeled form of Petaluma Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay.

And this drink, along with a handful of peers in Victoria, Margaret River and the Hunter Valley, transformed a nation of winelovers.

Riesling was ousted (mostly pretend Riesling), and Chardonnay was King.

So that's the history that lay before us as we drove down the drive toward that very same Tiers Vineyard, to meet the man who might possibly be the most important and instrumental mind in the Australian wine industry, Mr Brian Croser.

So there's the first - what the hell were we thinking??!

This man has something of a reputation for speaking his mind, for not suffering fools too gladly, and though we don't like to qualify ourselves as jugglers, we have been known to play up a bit on our quest for vino-topia.

Would he think we're idiots? I mean seriously, these are the thoughts going through our heads.

Toughen up, boys, this is about great Chardonnay, we told ourselves, and he's been kind enough to give us his time, just go in there, don't say anything dumb, drink the Chardonnay, and get out with your lives and hopefully your dignity.

Well, after all that fretting, what transpired was a fascinating, informative, laughter-filled morning of stories, lessons, insights and absolutely cracking Chardonnay with a man who was warm, generous, witty and welcoming.

Phew.

This was all about Tapanappa, by the way, Brian's more recent venture, post his Petaluma exit. It's no secret that selling Petaluma to Lion Nathan wasn't exactly a unanimous decision among the Crosers, but even in this, looking down over the winery that he recently bought back, he was gracious.

And why not? The Tapanappa 'The Tiers Vineyard' Chardonnay was the kind of wine that washed away lingering memories of wines past.

As Brian himself described it - "like a tall, skinny pregnant lady, long and fine with a big round bit in the middle". The length is the amazing savoury acid, giving the palate a zippy, exhilarating freshness of lime and spice, while allowing the voluptuous body to swim with the fuller flavours of white peach and melon, almond and brioche, without feeling weighted down.

We did sweat a little when Brian poured the wine, leant back in his chair, and insisted we tell him what we get out of the wine. I mean, yes - wine's an individual thing, and there is no "wrong" when you're describing your own experience with a wine, but this was Brian Croser, and things had been going fairly well up to this point...

But again, whilst this man likely knows more about Chardonnay than anyone else in the world, he's no clinical wine snob. He indulged our excited fumblings as the Tapanappa unveiled more and more of its mysteries, and shared his own imaginative insights, without a hint of condescension.

His passion for cool climate wines is infectious, and you're left again wondering "what the hell were we thinking" as a nation of winelovers, ever having abandoned the Chardonnay ship?

Of course, it wasn't this sort of Chardonnay that turned the masses to Sav Blanc. But it's this sort of Chardonnay that is winning them back.

Well, maybe not exactly the masses, at $80 a pop, but these two scruffy winelovers, absolutely.

So it was bloody good wine, great company (in no small part thanks to wife Ann and daughter and Business Manager Lucy, not to mention the golden retriever, whose name I've forgotten, but whose poos I shall carry with me a while longer :)

If I sound star-struck, it's because I am. It was an honour, an unforgettable experience (and thank you for cracking the 06 in the kitchen, Brian, before Lucy informed you that was one of the last 2 cases left in existence!), and a wine discovery that will grace the table in this man's wine life for many years to come (as long as the wife doesn't find out the price!)

But onwards, and upwards, as they say, for we had another legend of the wine industry waiting for us, up the top of Mount Lofty Summit, over 700m above sea level.

And if we wanted to meet him, and try his wine, then we were going to have to hike up the 4.2 km trail from the bottom of Waterfall Gully.

What the hell were we doing??!