Tag / Winery

by brandsa2018

McLaren Vale centre of organic, biodynamic winemaking

McLaren Vale – one of South Australia’s most renowned wine regions – is often noted for being home to some of the world’s oldest grape vines.

But did you know that McLaren Vale is also home to a high concentration of sustainable grapegrowers and winemakers?

A local industry program, Sustainable Australia Winegrowing (SAW) is an initiative of the McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association (MVGWTA) and says the region is the nation’s centre of sustainable winegrowing.

The program captures data from 130 local vineyards and wineries who can identify as sustainable through a set of environmental, economic and social considerations.

MVGWTA general manager Jennifer Lynch says grapegrowers who are part of SAW account for more than 70% of McLaren Vale’s entire crush.

Grapevines at Paxton Wines, McLaren Vale.

“The evidence-based farming practices are collected through more than 130 different data points across seven different subjects of sustainability … it’s a very holistic approach,” she says.

“The environmental indicators are quite obvious (soil health, fertiliser management, pest and disease management, water and waste management) but you have to also consider economic and social indicators, such as their worker and social relations, community relations, and overall profitability of the business.

“We are ecstatic the SAW program accounts for more than 70% of McLaren Vale’s entire crush, and for a voluntary program it’s an exceptional membership rate. It shows the industry is conscious of sustainable production.”

Jennifer says 10% of SAW McLaren Vale members are certified organic or biodynamic wineries and vineyards, while a further near 10% are practicing (but not certified) organic or biodynamic producers. The remaining percentage use low input conventional management practices to control pests and diseases.

Organic farming uses no synthetic pesticides or additives, while biodynamic farming involves a more holistic approach, identifying the property as entire ecosystem and also taking into consideration the lunar cycle and astrological influences.

Members of SAW account for 70% of McLaren Vale’s entire crush. This includes fruit from Gemtree Wines, pictured.

But a wine business can still be sustainable without adhering to organic or biodynamic practices.

“The important point to note is that sustainability does not favour one particular farming method over another,” Jennifer says.

“Sustainability covers conventional, certified and practising organic and biodynamic, and low input management with integrated pest management practice. There are various farming methods that sustainability can encompass – it is a continuum.”

Some of the wineries at the centre of McLaren Vale’s sustainable winemaking operations include the organic and biodynamic certified d’Arenberg, Paxton Wines, Gemtree Wines, and Wirra Wirra.

Melissa and Mike Brown at Gemtree Wines went certified organic and biodynamic in 2011, building upon Gemtree’s history which dates back to the 1980s.

They say biodynamic farming practices make a “huge difference” to the health of the soil and vines.

Melissa and Mike Brown of Gemtree Wines.

“As soon as we removed the chemicals, the herbicides and the pesticides we noticed that activity was back in the soil, the vines seemed to become a bit more resilient and were able to deal with extremes a bit more,” Mike says.

“We’re not saying we’re under a beautiful cloud and we’re not affected by the weather, but the vines seemed to be able to bounce back and have much a much more even, balanced structure.”

One of the bases of biodynamic winemaking is the use of horn manure (500) to build up fertility of the soil. Fresh cow manure is put into cow horns and buried in the ground for six months prior to the winter solstice.

Last year Gemtree separated itself from the usual biodynamic producers when they aged a single-vineyard shiraz in a wax-coated French oak barrel buried for eight months underneath the vines from which the winegrapes were grown. The wine was completely chemical free, with no sulphur added. Another barrel was buried for 18 months.

Mike says the result was an “absolute reflection of the place it comes from”, and he describes the drop as “broody, earthy and textual”.

A 15 minute drive away is fellow certified organic and biodynamic producer Paxton Wines, a family owned and run wine business that, like Gemtree Wines, farms without the use of synthetic fertilisers and fungicides.

Paxton Wines chief winemaker Richard Freebairn.

Operations manager Ben Paxton is son of highly respected viticulturist David Paxton and says his father was inspired to experiment with organic and biodynamic grapegrowing after attending a conference on the movement in 2004.

By 2005 the entire vineyard was converted to organic and biodynamic practices, before full certifications were achieved in 2011.

“We had a desire to increase grape quality, we wanted the vines to thrive naturally, have better balances of acidity, sugar and flavour,” Ben says. “The disease resistance increased dramatically, and the cell walls are thicker and stronger.”

The Browns and the Paxtons both believe consumers are increasingly wanting to know where their produce comes from and how it was made, and Jennifer Lynch of SAW agrees.

“If we look at who the core wine consumers are and our future consumers as well, it’s the millennials,” Jennifer says.

“The ethical and sustainable consciousness of these consumers continues to increase.”

Paxton Wines’ cellar door.

Industry in focus: Craft industries

Throughout the months of November and December, the state’s craft industries will be celebrated as part of I Choose SA.

South Australian craftspeople make up some of our most creative thinkers and makers of sustainable and innovative goods. Read more craft stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

Gumpara offers a different taste of the Barossa

Mark Mader has always known there’s something special about a part of the Barossa where his family first planted vines on Gumpara vineyard 90 years ago. Now he has a major award for his shiraz to prove it.

Gumpara 2014 Hexen Shiraz was named second behind Penfolds’ Grange in Winestate Magazine’s 13th International Syrah and Shiraz challenge, announced in September.

In Mark’s eyes, the prestigious award is a long overdue stamp of recognition for the largely unheralded Light Pass sub-region of the Barossa where Gumpara vineyard is located.

“More sub-regions of the Barossa are being identified on wine labels as the source of exceptional and distinctive fruit, but Light Pass is one area that should be a lot more famous for the quality of what is produced,” says Mark.

He points to the unusual mix of ironstone, marble and terra rosa clay in the Barossa’s gentle north-eastern hillside soils as the reason for the intensity and length of Light Pass fruit flavours.

The Gumpara 2014 Hexen Shiraz.

Mark says the Gumpara brand name clearly explains the significance of his vineyard, which is laid out beside the North Para River and flanked by ancient gum trees.

Its position captures cool gully winds through the summer that bring a unique complexity to the fruit, according to Mark. He identifies this in the best 20 tonnes of fruit from the vineyard that he keeps for Gumpara Wines (the remaining 140 tonnes is sold to Peter Lehmann Wines).

Now Mark and his wife Mandy are keen to share and explain the story of their Light Pass vineyard when they open the Gumpara Wines cellar door to public visitors on November 24.

After many years of supporting two daughters playing high-level basketball through their teenage years, Mark and Mandy now say they’ve got the necessary time to host cellar door visitors – and enough stock to warrant a cellar door presence. While the first Gumpara wines were released 18 years ago, volumes were initially very small.

“Our growth has been cautious. We haven’t wanted to carry massive debt,” explains Mark.

“Our family has traditionally been grape growers selling to other wineries, so it was a big step for me – the sixth generation on this land – to start making wine. It’s been a great thrill to identify how exceptional our fruit is.”

The Gumpara Wines family.

For a while, Gumpara was part of a collaborative cellar door with several other boutique Barossa labels, sharing a rented shop in Tanunda’s main street, but the arrangement proved difficult to manage and stopped after a few years.

Now, an old shed on the Gumpara vineyard has been re-purposed and refitted with timbers salvaged from the 1857 Light Pass Church Manse, and a 4m Redgum slab used as the bar. It will now be open for regular public tastings on weekends, by appointment.

Visitors will be able to purchase the limited-release $240 Hexen Shiraz, named after an old Silesian “witch”, Mutter Jaeckel, who lived near the Gumpara vineyard and created homeopathic remedies for the first Barossa settlers in the 1840s.

This is the first release of this wine – the culmination of a five-year project, sourced from vines up to 90 years old. It replaces the Reserve Shiraz as Gumpara’s flagship wine, which was also a significant award-winner, taking third place in Winestate’s 2012 International Syrah and Shiraz Challenge.

The cellar door opens November 24.

Cellar door visitors seeking a more modest wine will find great value in Gumpara Victor’s Old Vine Shiraz ($32), which also registered the maximum five-star rating in this year’s Winestate International Shiraz Challenge.

Mark is confident that his small cellar door will help bring visitors to Light Pass, and feels the time is right to put this overlooked part of the Barossa on the map.

“A lot of the fruit grown in the Light Pass area has traditionally been sold to big wineries, but never identified on the bottle as a source,” he says.

“There’s a few small cellar door tasting rooms – Pete Scholz’s The Willows, Gibson Wines, Ben Chipman’s Tomfoolery Wines – but it’s not really known as a region to visit.

“I think it’s time to shine a brighter light on the place and highlight what we have here that’s special.”

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by brandsa2018

Henschke moves ahead by taking heed of history

History is of great importance to Stephen Henschke. As the Henschke family celebrates 150 years of winemaking in South Australia through six generations, the celebrated winemaker has much to reflect on – and look forward to.

For starters, there is a new cellar door at Henschke’s Keyneton winery in the Barossa, featuring the stone walls of the farm’s original grain barn, to complement the adjacent cellars constructed in the 1860s by Johann Christian Henschke.

The new tasting space will be open to visitors from early November.

Being respectful of history is important to Stephen and his viticulturist wife Prue. “We all live in a continuing history, and times are moving fast,” Stephen says.

“I delve into history to make sense of what generations of my family have achieved. I’m a serious student of the past to learn what worked and what failed. Understanding this defines the provenance of what we have with our vineyards and winery, and why ours is like no other.”

The new cellar door at Henschke’s Keyneton winery.

This care is reflected in the painstaking recent reconstruction of The Julius Room, another private tasting room at Henschke’s Keyneton winery.

The room was moved stone-by-stone from within the belly of the winery to its new home among the gardens, still with it’s forked bough supports for the roof, original timber-framed windows, and with historical family photographs and documents lining the walls.

Stephen says his passion for uncovering history has accelerated recently, as his and Prue’s three children Johann, Justine and Andreas proceed through adulthood, and with the recent arrival of first granddaughter Matilda.

“You build on history, and this is our challenge as generations change and a winery of our modest size sets itself to move into the future,” he says.

The opening of the new cellar door coincides with the release of an outstanding crop of elite new Henschke wines – including the stellar 2013 vintage of the winery’s flagship Hill of Grace single vineyard shiraz, along with new additions to the portfolio, being the 2015 The Wheelwright Shiraz, and matured sparkling wine Johanne Ida Selma Blanc de Noir MD.

The 2013 Hill of Grace Shiraz.

Presenting these wines to the media for the first time, Stephen offered examples of Hill of Grace vintages across six decades for comparative tasting, dating from 1962.

“Here it is on the table before us – my lifetime with Hill of Grace,” says Stephen.

“It’s all about memories – memories that we cherish.”

Beyond receiving global accolades for the large suite of Henschke wines, Stephen also likes to shine a light on his family’s achievers, especially those whose toil was not widely recognised during the war years, when German influence in the Barossa was frowned upon and quelled by government administrators.

This includes gifted sculptor and stonemason Albert Julius Henschke, whose 1920s masterwork, carved from Angaston marble, is the giant angels that stand as centerpiece of the National War Memorial on North Terrace, Adelaide.

He also carved war memorials in Tanunda and Freeling, but was refused a commission for the Gawler South war memorial in 1920 solely because of his German name.

Winemaker Stephen Henschke.

Stephen even embarked on a campaign to restore the original Germanic name of the small river that runs close to the Henschke winery, called the North Rhine by the area’s Silesian founders, then changed to the Somme in 1918, reflecting strong anti-German sentiment after World War I.

It was one of many German names in the Barossa changed under the Nomenclature Act of 1917, but Stephen’s rigorous public campaign saw it officially gazetted once again as the North Rhine River.

He’s not just curious about his family’s German history. Stephen has become a student of Aboriginal culture and influence throughout the Eden Valley, learning about the movements, settlements and harvesting by different Indigenous people in the long history before colonial settlement.

“Through this, I’ve learned a much deeper history, that gives me a more complete understanding about the story of this land,” he says.

Prue Henschke in the Mt Edelstone vineyard, located in the Eden Valley. Photo by Dragan Radocaj.

Stephen, who was recently invited by the University of Adelaide to deliver a public lecture in the city about what happened to the Barossa’s German descendants between the two World Wars, tells tales of Henschke history from the heart, with a mixture of awe, deliberation and pride.

The family is also the subject of a commemorative hardcover book, Hill of Grace: 150 Years of Henschke Under Southern Skies (Hardie Grant Books, $60), tracing the history of the Henschke family’s flight from religious persecution in Germany during 1841, through its continued nurturing of the Hill of Grace vines at Keyneton, planted from the early 1860s.

The book is completed by historical photographs, colour plates by Barossa photographer Dragan Radocaj, and tasting notes of Hill of Grace vintages, from their first bottling as a single vineyard expression in 1958.

“History is such an important part of who we are and what we do,” says Stephen. “We’re fortunate that we have it on the page, in pictures, and in the incredible living library of wine that comes out of our cellars.”

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

Coonawarra families co-produce region’s most expensive wine

What started as a late-night conversation between two wine families who share a common distant relative has evolved into the most expensive wine yet produced from Coonawarra – and it sets an innovative new benchmark for elite wine output from the region.

The Redman and Balnaves families are already renowned for producing world-famous wines, but their decision to join forces and produce a wine that celebrates their common ancestor William Wilson (he’s fourth generation winemaker Dan Redman’s great-great-great grandfather) represents a first.

The release of the 2016 William Wilson Shiraz Cabernet on Saturday September 1, selling for $300 a bottle, combines elite grape parcels to produce a style once called claret, and regarded as a distinctive Australian wine signature.

“It was an idea we had before the 2016 vintage – to make a very special wine that could be released to celebrate the 200th anniversary of William Wilson’s birth, but sometimes simple ideas don’t turn out so easy,” says Doug Balnaves with a wry grin.

While Scottish-born Wilson was a famous horticulturist – and the lavish garden beside his Petticoat Lane cottage in Penola inspired Coonawarra’s first grape grower, John Riddock – trying to confirm accurate records of Wilson’s birth has not been so easy, with Doug finding three different dates in two countries.

“Let’s just say the wine is an appropriate celebration of William Wilson’s life,” he says.

To build this iconic wine blend, cabernet fruit comes from 46-year-old vines on Balnaves’ vineyards, while the Redman’s shiraz is from 85-year-old vines on a patch they call The Last Row.

“Both fruit parcels were identified as ideal for this blending project, even before they had been picked,” says Dan Redman.

The Redman and Balnaves families share an ancestor, William Wilson.

The hunch proved right, although it took a while to decide on the wine’s final recipe; the winemaking team initially thought shiraz would account for three quarters of the blend, but after blending trials it became 55% shiraz and 45% cabernet.

What results is a deliciously rich, nuanced wine, eminently drinkable now, but with the structure and intensity that will allow it to age gracefully in the cellar for at least 40 years.

“It’s not a contrived wine,” says Doug Balnaves with a note of pride. “The fruit is exceptional and the quality shines through. It’s a rare thing for a wine to exceed our expectations, but this one has.”

While this was designed as a one-off project, the results have been so encouraging that the winemakers have already secreted away parcels of grapes from the 2018 vintage in the hope of making another Redman/Balnaves blend, although nothing is yet confirmed.

The Redman and Balnaves families have collaborated to produce Coonawarra’s most expensive wine.

“The first my dad knew about us possibly doing it again was when he saw the team I’d hired to hand-pick shiraz from the Last Row block,” says Dan Redman with a sheepish grin.

“If I hadn’t noticed a few extra expensive oak barrels in the inventory, I probably still wouldn’t have been told,” says Doug’s daughter Kirsty Balnaves with a smile and a weary shake of her head.

“The truth is, this project has excited both families. It’s a rare thing to achieve something so exceptional.”

Due to its limited volume, with only 250 dozen produced (shared equally between the two family wineries), 2016 William Wilson Shiraz Cabernet will only be available at each winery’s cellar door or online.

To celebrate the launch of this special wine in grand fashion, the Balnaves and Redman families will be hosting a William Wilson event beside his headstone in the Coonawarra cemetery as part of the Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations in October, with haggis to eat and bagpipes providing the soundtrack to accompany a wine tasting.

Check coonawarra.org for details.

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by brandsa2018

Sidewood’s new bottling facility a first for Adelaide Hills

Adelaide Hills winery Sidewood Estate is celebrating the completion of its multi-million dollar bottling facility – the first of its kind in the region.

The Nairne estate’s new bottling line can fill and label up to 3000 bottles per hour with an annual capacity of more than five million bottles.

The facility is the region’s first bottling line for sparkling wines.

Sidewood Estate owner Owen Inglis says the growth and demand for the business’s wines locally, nationally and internationally prompted the need for expansion.

He says the whole region is set to benefit from the new facility, which will allow third party contracts for other wine, cider and beer brands.

Sidewood’s Estate’s Darryl Catlin and Owen Inglis.

“Until now, local producers often have had to go as far as Port Adelaide, Barossa or McLaren Vale to bottle wine and ciders which can prove costly, but also importantly, due to the tyranny of distance, make it difficult for producers to monitor the packaging process of their own products,” Owen says.

“Providing regional producers with a quality alternative for local processing will be a highly attractive option for wineries and cider houses looking for commercially viable bottling and canning solutions.”

The new counter pressure bottling line allows for the bottling of products with bubbles, such as sparking wine, muscat and cider.

The bottling and canning equipment was part of a $4m expansion of the Nairne winery and was supported through a $856,000 grant from the former Labour State Government’s Regional Development Fund.

The operation of the bottling facility has allowed Sidewood to further increase its level of quality control, meaning the business owns the whole winemaking process.

This includes the growing of its grapes, to crushing, fermentation and maturation of its wines.

The winery has a focus on recycled water and also sources the majority of its electricity from solar power.

Aside from wine, Sidewood is also renowned for its ciders.

Fruit used in these beverages is 100% Adelaide Hills grown and is crushed, fermented, kegged, canned and bottled under the one roof.

Sidewood’s pear cider won a gong at the 2017 World Cider Awards in London.

Sidewood winemaker Darryl Catlin says the new line gives him “total control” over the winemaking process from start to finish, allowing him to keep producing award-winning wines and ciders.

“These facilities will help give Sidewood another edge in quality terms and the benefits of control,” he says.

“This is another example of Sidewood’s commitment to quality and the ability to have a vine to glass philosophy.”

Sidewood’s cellar door is located about 20 minutes away from the winery at Maximilian’s Restaurant at Verdun, while its vineyards are scattered across Oakbank, Echunga, Nairne and Verdun.

In 2017 Sidewood’s pear cider was named the Best Dry Style Pear Cider at the World Cider Awards in London.

Sidewood has received a number of other international and national awards, including achieving a five red star accreditation from James Halliday.

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The top 15 things to do in McLaren Vale

McLaren Vale – it has a cellar door around every corner, world-class culinary offerings and the unforgettable d’Arenberg Cube.

While a day in McLaren Vale is undoubtedly best spent with wine on your lips, we reckon there’s many ways to kill some time in the land of the rolling vineyards.

But first, a few facts.

  • McLaren Vale is only 45 minutes from Adelaide and incorporates 30km of stunning coastline that is worthy of an Instagram snap or two.
  • The region was originally populated by the Kaurna Aboriginal people.
  • John McLaren surveyed McLaren Vale in 1838, establishing two separate townships, Gloucester and Bellevue.
  • Over time these two merged and the area came to be known as McLaren’s Vale. By 1866 it had houses, businesses, a church, a pub and a steam flour mill.
  • The first grape vines were planted in 1838 by settlers John Reynell and Thomas Hardy, with the Seaview and Hardy wineries up and running by the 1850s.
  • Now McLaren Vale is respected as the birthplace of SA wine, is renowned for its favourable Mediterranean climate and is home to some of the country’s top winemakers.

OK, enough. Let’s get into the good stuff.

1. Graze your way through the Willunga Farmer’s Market

Fill your I Choose SA tote bag so the straps are stretched to their limits.

You’ll find the finest SA artisan produce you can get your hands on, from crusty sourdough loaves to pastured eggs, homemade jams, honey, and veggies so fresh they’ve still got the dirt on them.

The best thing about SA farmer’s markets is that you can meet and chat to the local makers and growers in the flesh.

WHERE: Cnr St Peter’s Terrace and High Street, Willunga.

The Willunga Farmer’s Market is on every Saturday, from 8am –12:30pm.

2. Visit the cheese room at Romeo’s McLaren Vale Foodland

Lock us in there and throw away the key!

McLaren Vale Foodland has its own walk-in cheese room offering a selection of bries, camemberts and matured varieties – you name it!

The supermarket also has a sushi bar with its own chef.

In February 2018 McLaren Vale Foodland was crowned international retailer of the year at the IGA’s annual global awards in Las Vegas.

WHERE: 130 Main Road, McLaren Vale.

3. Be amazed by the d’Arenberg Cube

Is it Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory? Is it a giant Rubik’s Cube? Nope, it’s Chester Osborn’s imagination at work.

Even if you’re not into wine, this fascinating piece of architecture is a hit to the senses.

The d’Arenberg Cube features a variety of features and art installations that must be seen to be fully understood and appreciated.

The views are also spectacular.

WHERE: Osborn Road, McLaren Vale.

The furniture alone is worth awing over.

4. Venture along the Shiraz Trail

Need to wear off all that cheese and dukkah-dipped sourdough?

The off-road Shiraz Trail links the McLaren Vale wine district with Willunga, offering stunning views of vineyards, majestic gums and livestock grazing in paddocks.

It’s about 9km long, can be journeyed by bike, foot, or horseback and is child friendly.

Time it well on a Saturday morning and end up at the Willunga Farmer’s Market!

WHERE: Begin at the McLaren Vale Visitor Information Centre.

5. Devour a pizza at Pizzateca

If you didn’t Instagram a selfie in front of that pink and green shed did you even visit Pizzateca?

Well, you’d remember your visit anyhow, because their pizzas are quite possibly the best in the land.

Think handmade dough that’s stretched and flipped, scattered with produce and thrown into a fiery wood oven before your eyes.

WHERE: 319 Chalk Hill Road, McLaren Vale.

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6. Appreciate art at the Fleurieu Arthouse

Located within Hardys Tintara is this arthouse hosting 10 resident local artists who create their masterpieces from the studio and workshop spaces.

Take a wonder through the finished pieces in the exhibition gallery featuring sculptures, paintings, pottery and other installations.

WHERE: 202 Main Road, McLaren Vale.

7. Hurl a melon at Wirra Wirra.

Nothing will resurrect your inner child than flinging a watermelon from a giant medieval siege machine and watching it fly through the air before it lands with a spectacular splat.

You can do this Wirra Wirra along with other things, such as sampling wines from the cellar door or enjoying a scrumptious seasonal platter from Harry’s Deli.

WHERE: McMurtrie Road, McLaren Vale.

8. Make a move at The Groove Garden

Every Sunday afternoon this alfresco café spreads its infectious vibes, appealing to the young, seniors, kids and everyone in-between.

Live music in the form of blues, folk, rock, country and reggae has most people on their feet while others take in the atmosphere with a wine or a cold beer in hand.

The menu is always changing, but usually involves burgers, Indian cuisine, vegetarian-friendly plates and coffee.

WHERE: 133 Main Road, McLaren Vale.

9. Bag some snags at Ellis Butchers

These guys recently snagged third place at the Australian Meat Industry Council’s National Sausage King Competition in the poultry category.

The longstanding butcher supplies to some of the top restaurants (including D’Arenberg) and pubs across the region.

Ellis Butchers is a fan of dry aged beef, a process that increases flavour, tenderness and texture.

They also produce their own ham and bacon, smoked using beechwood and red gum.

WHERE: Lower level, Central Shopping Centre McLaren Vale.

10. Get lost at Maxwell.

At Maxwell Wines, there’s more to do than indulge in wine and nibble off a cheeseboard.

Owner Mark Maxwell has grown a maze at the bottom of the vineyard and it’s bound to keep kids (and the young at heart) entertained.

Cheeseboards are available from the cellar door, but visitors can bring their own nibbles to enjoy on the winery’s picnic ground while sipping a Maxwell drop.

WHERE: 19 Olivers Road, McLaren Vale.

11. Relax at The Vineyard Retreat

The Vineyard Retreat is the perfect spot to sleep off all the adventures, with a little country luxury of course.

It has four guest houses, each with double French doors opening onto their own private outdoor verandah.

The interiors are elegant with luxurious touches such as a complementary mini bar, soft linen, and an espresso machine.

WHERE: 165 Whitings Road, Blewitt Springs.

12. Pitch a tent at the caravan park

With so much to do in the region, it makes sense to stay for at least the weekend.

The Lakeside Caravan Park is perfect for tent-pitchers, caravan owners, pop-toppers or families.

The grounds feature a playground, grassed area, tennis courts, a spa and swimming pool – all the creature comforts!

WHERE: 48 Field Street, McLaren Vale.

13. Grab a roadside caffeine hit

Cruise down the McLaren Vale end of Victor Harbor Road and you’ll spot a black caravan that’s well worth a stop.

The Short Black Caravan is the doing of Dal Mare Coffee, which also exists in café form along McLaren Vale’s main drag.

This boutique coffee roaster is fast becoming the go-to for locals and travellers.

WHERE: Short Black Caravan, McLaren Vale end of the Victor Harbor Road. Dal Mare Coffee, 189 Main Road, McLaren Vale.

14. Smash a toastie at Mullygrub

Hearty breakfasts that take you all the way to lunch without hunger pangs.

That’s what a good brekky is all about, but at Mullygrub Café (which also exists in the form of a food truck) things are done a little differently.

Why do waffles when they can be pumpkin waffles with crispy sage and zoodles?

A new addition is the Cuban sandwich with mojo pork, dill pick, Swiss cheese and Cubano sauce.

WHERE: 114-116 Main Road, McLaren Vale.

15. Crack a tinny at Goodieson

Wine is good, but a cold beer on a hot day? Better.

Setting up operations in McLaren Vale, Jeff and Mary Goodieson offer everything from barrel aged stout to golden IPAs, imperial pilsners, pale ales, wheat beers and Indian red ales.

Enjoy a coldie or a paddle of four beers on the terrace overlooking a tree-lined creek, vineyards, and a roo or two.

The “lazy old red dog” will melt your heart before you even sit down.

WHERE: 194 Sand Road, McLaren Vale.

Visit I Choose SA to find out how you can support our State by choosing South Australian businesses, products and services.

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by brandsa2018

The Clare Valley cellar door with a bush tucker twist

Lemon myrtle, native pepperleaf, desert lime and bush tomato syrup are not usually ingredients found at a cellar door.

But for Clare Valley’s Paulett Wines, the addition of a native bush café and garden has been a recipe for success and has increased business significantly.

Before 2015 Paulett Wines, located in the Clare Valley sub region of Polish Hill River, was renowned for producing a riesling that was crowned as the world’s best in 2010.

But yearning to create an even greater point of difference, the family owned and operated business planted a sensory bush garden and opened the Bush DeVine Café.

Grazing on a ‘bushies’ platter with a drop of white or red is perhaps the perfect way to enjoy the view at Paulett Wines and Bush DeVine Café.

At the helm of Paulett Wines is chief winemaker Neil and his wife Alison (general manager), their son Matthew who manages the vineyard and his wife Ali who looks after sales and marketing.

“There was no shortage of cellar doors in the Clare Valley, but there was a shortage of places to eat,” Ali says.

“We needed that point of difference.”

Paulett Wines established the Bush DeVine Café with the help of a $116,000 grant from the State Government’s Regional Development Fund in late 2014.

Ali says the grant has proved invaluable in getting the project off the ground and bringing the family’s value-adding idea to fruition.

Head chef Roger Graham.

“We had the idea in the pipeline for a long time – if we had a dollar for every time someone said ‘you should put a restaurant in’ we could almost have paid for it ourselves,” she says.

“It (the café) has been boosting traffic to the cellar door amazingly – and that means more and more jobs.

“We’ve taken on over 30 employees now; we only had six before.”

Bush DeVine’s head chef Roger Graham creates dishes with a native Australian twist, including the Jamaican jerk chicken with pepperberry sweet potato, desert lime and chilli sauce.

Another favourite is the bushies platter, featuring Roger’s chutney, meats, olive tapenade, marinated mushrooms, labneh, fetta, chirzo from local meat shop Mathies, and crusty bread.

The menu features matching wines, while diners who prefer to sip on a brew can enjoy the Last Minute Extra Special Bitter – a collaboration between Paulett and Clare Valley Brewing Co.

Ali says the café is supplied with native ingredients from local producers as well as Paulett Wines’ own bush garden, which was planted in 2010.

The bush garden is a sensory area allowing visitors to touch, smell and taste native produce.

The garden features hundreds of native plants and bush tucker foods, including bush spinach, muntrie berries, native raspberries, bush mint and thyme, lemon myrtle and riberries.

The Paulett’s also grow quinces, pomegranates, figs, walnuts and mulberries.

Visitors are free to wander through the ‘sensory’ garden and pick a berry or two for a taste and a smell.

Ali says opening the café has allowed them to support youth employment and training.

Bush DeVine has recently taken on two young apprentices in the kitchen, and Ali says the family business is set for further growth.

“What we would love to do next is enhance the cellar door experience by creating a separate tasting space alongside the café, allowing us to maintain the premium experience for those wine lovers who are focused solely on the wine,” she says.

The first Paulett Wines vintage was produced by Neil and Alison in 1983.

Paulett Wines will appear at the Cellar Door Festival in Adelaide from March 2–4.

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by brandsa2018

Boutique wine gem adds to Riverland’s diversity

By Melissa Keogh

In a region that thrives on mass production, the Riverland’s Eric and Jenny Semmler are striving to ensure the area’s small producers stand out from the bunch.

The duo is behind family-owned boutique winery 919 Wines in the small town of Glossop and want the Riverland to be recognised as both a commercial winemaking centre and a premium wine region.

The hot, inland region is renowned for its big-name wineries and its grapegrowers who produce half of South Australia’s annual crush and a third of the nation’s entire harvest.

But according to former Winestate Winemaker of the Year Eric, small producers and cellar doors are on the rise and hold the key to diversifying the Riverland’s profile.

If only making wine was as easy as reeling in a fish.

Eric and Jenny Semmler fishing among the 919 vines. If only winemaking was as easy as reeling in a fish!

Small winemakers running the Riverland’s small-medium winemaking scene include Mallee Estate, Bassham Wines and Whistling Kite.

“It’s starting to be recognised as a diverse wine region with high quality commercial wines, but there’s also a number of small producers who are putting out high end wines,” he says.

“It’s an exciting time because it’s gone from zero (small winemakers) to half-a-dozen and it adds diversity.”

As advocates for the Riverland’s smaller producers, the Semmlers have won awards and shared their drops at consumer events and industry tastings in a bid to lift the region’s profile.

Eric says large producers, such as Berri Estates, will always be the “engine room” and main economic driver.

According to the SA Winegrape Crush Survey, Riverland growers produced $162m of winegrapes in the 2017 vintage, up $48m on last year.

“But the small producers are all about tourism and visitor experiences and they give a snapshot of the exciting stuff happening in the region,” Eric says.

The Riverland is renowned for its large-scale grape growing efforts, but small producers like 919 Wines add another dimension to the industry, with intimate cellar door and tasting experiences.

An intimate cellar door experience at 919 Wines.

After both honing their craft at a number of big and small wineries in Victoria and SA, the Semmlers founded 919 Wines in 1999 as a “project that we did in our spare time”.

The first vineyard was established in Glossop by 2002, with the mediterranean-style vines proving ideal for the Riverland’s hot climate and low rainfall.

“When the wine started to sell we realised we could make very good wine using the right horticultural techniques,” Eric says.

The winery is now self-sufficient, growing 95% of its own fruit and, as an Australian certified organic winery, practices organic and biodynamic techniques.

Check out the array of Riverland wineries here.

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