So, you fancy visiting a few wineries on your next South Australian jaunt? The Adelaide Hills is world-renowned for its sparkling, white and light red wines. Local foodie Victoria Braithwaite gives us her pick of the region’s leading cellar doors.
Just minutes from the city centre, the wineries of the Adelaide Hills boast a plethora of unique experiences for travelling oenophiles, from galleries to world-class dining. But it’s the cellar doors and the treasure trove they hold that is the true drawcard for likely lads looking for a truly unique wine experience.
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Shaw + Smith
You don’t need to be a wine connoisseur to appreciate the modern, sophisticated, semi-formal tasting room at Shaw + Smith, where Wine Flights takes visitors on a vino-soaked journey accompanied by cheese. This multi-award winning cellar door, built in time for the 2000 vintage, is a local favourite; mull over the winery’s top drops, including the 2014 Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay and 2009 Aged Release Shiraz, and take in the local viticulture history while savouring the view of vineyards gently undulating towards Mt Lofty.
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Petaluma
Established in 1976, Petaluma is the founding winery of the Adelaide Hills and the undisputed ‘Godfather’ of the region. While its Yellow Label and White Label wines share the traditional flavours of the region, wine lovers looking for a unique experience at the Woodside cellar door should crack open a bottle of the Croser Piccadilly Valley Late Disgorged Sparkling 2004, or perhaps even the Project Co. Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2012. The cellar door also offers limited releases and museum back vintages.
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Sidewood
Oenophiles with a passion for the great game will find Sidewood’s golfing challenge hard to beat. Buy yourself a bag of balls, land your chip on the island green in the middle of a dam and win yourself a bottle of the winery’s acclaimed sparkling wine; land in the hole and you’ll also walk away with an AU$1,000 (US$756) gift voucher. Be sure to stop by the cellar door for a tasting of the 2016 sparkling Sidewood Pinot Gris and Isabella Sparkling Rose, or its pear or apple ciders.
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Hahndorf Hill
At this unique cellar door, the ChocoVino tasting is irresistible. Based on the terroir concept, Hahndorf Hill matches the best chocolate from Italy, Madagascar, France, and Australia with its award-winning wines from Blaufrankisch, Gruner Veltliner (Austrian) and Zweigelt (Germanic) grape varieties. Set in a captivating glass-enclosed tasting room on the edge of the historic Hahndorf village (the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia), it’s a fitting spot to taste the likes of the Gruner Veltliner – GRU2 2015 Reserve Style, or Zsa Zsa Zweigelt Nouveau 2016.
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Golding Wines
The moment you head up Golding Wines‘ long gravel driveway and wind past the ducks in the big dam, you’ll sense you’ve arrived somewhere special. You’ll be guided to the tasting room by Louis, the resident border collie, where you can do insightful tastings of the winery’s top drops, including the Marjorie Méthode Champenoise Sparkling. If you’re lucky you might even get to try the 2009 vintage that, inspired by a love of great Champagne, is limited to just 2,000 bottles.
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Pike and Joyce
Set almost 600m above sea level, the cool climate of Pike and Joyce’s vineyards delivers crisp and delicate wines such as the 2016 ‘Descente’ Sauvignon Blanc or the 2015 Vue Du Nord Pinot. With 180 degree panoramic views, the winery’s cellar door is a great place to stop for lunch and sample an a la carte menu bursting with fresh local produce. The restaurant’s ‘from the sea’ options include charred baby squid or seared John Dory fillets, while ‘from the land’ choices include crispy-skinned duck or Tunisian spiced lamb rump, the perfect finish to your Adelaide Hills winery crawl.
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