Here I am sipping wine in McLaren Vale! I can’t believe it!
The adventure began when I flew in to Adelaide September 2019 on a special trip with my daughters to visit some of my favourite, and new favourite, Australian cellar doors in the best wine region in the world. I have always appreciated Mclaren Vale region wines and I love that my girls appreciate the world of wine the way I do. McLaren Vale reds are our preference. We like to call ourselves #teamred🍷
We were already off to a great start. We picked the perfect spot as a home base for our amazing wine tour – the Coast Motel and Apartments in the beach town of Port Noarlunga South, a short 40 minute drive in our rental car from the Adelaide airport and on the doorstep to McLaren Vale (only 12 minute drive).
We stayed in the Luxury Beach Studio Apartment on the 2nd floor – spacious, sparkling clean, beautifully designed apartment famous for its sunset views and the incredible hospitality of owners Josh & Jacqui Coulter. Just a skip across the road is the gorgeous Fleurieu Peninsula’s Southport Beach and one of the most photographed beach staircases in South Australia. A must see!
The Wineries
While the girls and I were surprisingly impressed with my Australian driving skills, we did hire private drivers for our wine tour of McLaren Vale, which is highly recommended.
With a private driver, we were able to do our tour our way, we selected our wineries – some that were personally important to visit, and many cool local wineries that were recommended by our Coast Motel & Apartments host, and personal concierge for all things Fleurieu Peninsula, Josh. I think we did it right, and we met the best people (you will meet many of them in this blog). If you are planning a trip to this region, and love wine, I’ve shared our one week itinerary at the end of this blog.
September is the start of Spring in Australia and while it may not have been the best time of the year to visit weather-wise, it’s actually an amazing time to visit McLaren Vale as it is not super busy. Our winery visits were really relaxed, chill, casual, informative, and the winemakers were very approachable.
Our first stop was CHAPEL HILL WINES and we were hosted in the Chapel Hill tasting room by the brilliant Justin White who told us so much about the wines and the region.
We learned that the wineries of McLaren Vale, in one of the greatest and oldest wine regions in Australia, have aligned their focus on 3 areas to ensure the region continues to stand out:
1. Grenache as a single varietal. While McLaren Vale’s noble grapes Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon still hold their own, Grenache is the big thing in McLaren Vale growing in popularity in the last 5 years.
“Grenache is McLaren Vale’s secret weapon – not merely Australia’s best, but every bit as good as that of the Rhone Valley.”- James Halliday
2. Soil diversity and climate. Soil diversity is a big focus especially in Shiraz, as the most planted varietal in McLaren Vale, and Cabernet Sauvignon being the second. The Mediterranean-like climate in the region is also perfect for Italian varieties like Sangiovese and newer arrivals – Nero d’Avola and Vermentino inspiring the region’s most creative winemakers.
3. Experiences – wineries in the region are offering unique tasting rooms, personalizing tours, sharing their stories, and creating culinary experiences. From an iconic wine tasting in a 150 year old chapel, to a kangaroo sanctuary in the backyard at Woodstock wines, the imaginative world of d’Arenberg in a Cube, or McLaren Vale’s newest cellar door on a double decker tasting bus at Down the Rabbit Hole Wines, it’s all about the experience.
A divine tasting at Chapel Hill Wines in a 154 year old chapel.
The Chapel Hill story is all about soil preferences. A highlight was meeting the twins in the family – the Chapel Hill House Block Shiraz and the Road Block Shiraz, that highlight the geology located right on this special vineyard. Planted in blocks a mere 50 meters from each other these wines present and taste so differently because of their soil profiles.
We loved The Vicar, and of course we would, it is glorious. The most premium of the Chapel Hill Wines exhibiting the pinnacle Shiraz style of McLaren Vale, black fruit and spice, and made from the very best grapes in limited production.
The taste is right, and so is the price, on the Chapel Hill Winedresser Grenache (pictured above), and because this wine is more available in bottle shops it became our go-to wine on the rest of our Australian adventure taking us in to Brisbane, the Whitsunday Islands, the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Byron Bay.
One of our favourite Chapel Hill stories is that of the 1897 Old Vine Grenache. The grapes are grown on ancient Grenache bush vines planted in 1897 and are recognized as prized relics, treasured by grape growers, coveted by winemakers. It’s a “wine that twists and turns and slowly unfurls slowly in the glass until you are left wondering what grace and majesty beholds the patient and the brave.” The story resonated as my eldest was born in 1997, a century after these vines were planted. And while we appreciate her grace and majesty every day, we decided this wine would be amazing to cellar and open on her 30th birthday.
Next up… life’s a beach at Beach Road Wines
Soaking in a little Spring-time sun and the incredible wines at Beach Road Wines. Such a delight to meet winemaker Briony Hoare and add a new favourite to My Wine Playlist … I wish we could buy these wines in Canada.
Beach Road is a small vineyard with big Italian influence. Briony sources out grapes to make wines that mean something to her and her family. It’s a passion project and simply all about good wine. Briony is really down to earth, we enjoyed learning about her unique wines, meeting her team, and learning about her wine philosophy.
“What we don’t believe is that it’s important to impress people with fancy wine words. We do believe a wine should support a meal and celebrate a moment.”
We felt so comfortable and familiar in this winery, likely because of the genuine hospitality of Briony and her team, but also possibly because their branding is so similar to a brand that I am responsible for in my full-time job as senior marketing manager for Global News. I love their brand design, the ‘greater than’ symbol on the Beach Road Wines label changes colour to identify each type of wine. In my TV world we call that symbol our “morty” – more tv, get it?
For lunch we selected our favourite new varietal, the Nero d’avola, to accompany our delicious lunch on the patio. We loved Beach Road Wine’s famous wood fired pizza and had THE BEST ARANCINI found in South Australia! We had to take a photo of this dish mid-meal because we were so obsessed with it!
Beach Road Wines – Good food, good wine, good company. And I would add good views! We embraced it all.
Women winemakers are making their mark in South Australia and internationally. Next up… doing the Mollydooker Shake at Mollydooker Wines.
A bit more mainstream for us in Canada, I’ve enjoyed many of the wines, but Mollydooker’s The Boxer is on my wine playlist more often.
It was a thrill to be in the winery and the vineyard..and we learned a little about “fruit weight” a concept unique to Mollydooker that helps to rate their wines. It’s the percentage of your palate (from the tip of your tongue going all the way back) that’s covered by the velvety sensation of fruit, before you experience anything else in the wine (ie the acidity, tannins, the finish). A wine must have at least 60% fruit weight in order to be considered as a Mollydooker.
Samuel’s Gorge is gorgeous!!!
Definition of a gorge is THIS! We saw wild kangaroos and the most incredible views.
It’s near the end of a tasting day and at Samuel’s Gorge they just give you the bottle to taste at your leisure. It’s so chill, and gorgeous. The wines are small batch and made in a unique house style. We really enjoyed sipping on the 2018 Graciano.
An awesome bonus at Samuel’s Gorge is playing fetch with Chunk, the sweetest and a bit slobbery 🙂 winery dog.
We were hosted by Stacey and learned that her sister Hannah works at Samuel’s Gorge too. My oldest is named Johanna so a “sisters” photo was a must. We also met winemaker Justin McNamee who is really easy going, passionate about wine and food, and highly recommended that we try kangaroo tail for our next stop at the iconic Salopian Inn for dinner that evening (we did, although it wasn’t our favourite).
We loved Samuel’s Gorge – the vibe was so chill, the wines so great, the moments so special.
Wine and Wildlife – the most wonderful adventure at Woodstock Wines.
Day 2 of our McLaren Vale wine tour brought us to Woodstock Wines. I am familiar with Woodstock Wines in Canada and the Woodstock Shiraz makes a regular appearance on my wine playlist. What I didn’t know about Woodstock Wines, and now I am thrilled to find out, is that Woodstock has a collaboration with Ben Glaetzer, an Australian winemaker that I appreciate very much for his accomplishments and his great wine.
Woodstock Wines has an awesome story. Founded by Douglas Collett a Spitfire Pilot in WWII who had a love for the vineyards of Tuscany and declared that if he survived the war he would be a winemaker. He purchased the derelict vineyards in the 70s and made a huge impact on the wine world of McLaren Vale. On display, in the tasting room, is his original helmet and a fabulous bottle of wine in his honour – Pilot’s View.
Today the winery is owned and operated by his son, Scott Collett and his family. We tasted the Grenache from 80 year old vines, a Tempranillo, and a 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – Collett Lane. This success of the Collett Lane has everything to do with its environment its grapes are grown in. The wine has vanilla and toasty coconut notes with a smooth finish and the selection of grapes have 6 hours less sun in the vineyard and harvest 6 weeks later than the regular harvest.
Woodstock Wines is more than great wines, it’s a special experience. We did not get to meet the granddaughter Sophie who works at the winery but we did get to meet the amazing Kat who shared the family’s stories and the wine and introduced us to Twiggy, the bubbly version of Woodstock Wines. My girls love bubbly and these mini bottles showed up with us in Brisbane (as seen below) to celebrate my little one’s new apartment and her upcoming year in Australia.
Back at Woodstock Winery, during our tasting, the most wonderful thing happened. At 1130am it was feeding time for some special creatures. Kat introduced us to the winery’s caretaker Mik and together they took us in to the wonderful world of the Woodstock Wildlife Sanctuary. We bottle-fed kangaroos and met the coolest Emu named Maverick. It was an experience we will never forget. We also felt very very bad for tasting kangaroo the day before and never ever will again.
The trippy world of Chester Osborn’s d’Arenberg Wines
Another experience that we will never forget was our trip to the trippy, imaginative world of Chester Osborn’s d’Arenberg wines.
D’Arenberg wines is like walking in to the world of the original Willy Wonky’s Chocolate Factory, if it was a winery.
D’Arenberg is more than a cellar door – it is an experience of taste and artistic expression. We love the imaginative names of the wines and the labels, particularly The Artisans series of wines. We chose The Wild Pixie Shiraz to accompany our amazing culinary experience at d’Arry Verandah Restaurant. PS the LOBSTER BISQUE IS AMAZING!!!
The delicious lobster bisque at D’Arry’s Verandah
The d’Arenberg label is pretty mainstream in Canada and the wines are fantastic, but I have a whole new appreciation for where the inspiration of these wines is coming from. I WISH we could have met Chester Osborn, but we did get a glimpse of his world and we were thrilled that a Salvador Dali Exhibit was in the Cube during our visit. My oldest daughter just studied his work in a University Art History class and was over the moon that the art exhibit was on. It was a must see!
We tasted more than great wines, we had a great experience… that’s what d’Arenberg Wines is all about.
Tasting d’Arenberg iconic The Dead Arm Shiraz in the tasting room in the Cube.
THEN a visit to the winery that inspired my love for McLaren Vale wines -Pirramimma- the moon and the stars.
If you’ve read any of my previous wine blogs you will know that Pirramimma is my favourite go-to wine. It’s name is from an aboriginal phrase meaning the moon and the stars, and is one of the oldest and original wineries of McLaren Vale since 1892. It was a real thrill to walk through the cellar doors in person and be there with my girls.
We met Peter in the tasting room who shared the white label series (this is what we are more familiar with in Canada) – the Petit Verdot, the Shiraz, and a Pirramimma Grenache which I had never tried before.
He also introduced us to a label marketed only in Asia, and the unlabelled Grenache which has peeked the interest of my little one to join the wine club while she is in Australia for its price point and quality.
For me, the purchase of a bottle of the 2015 War Horse Shiraz, a quintessential McLaren Vale Shiraz, and one of only 500 bottles produced, came home in my suitcase and will be reserved for a special moment with my girls in the future.
From old to new… Alpha Box and Dice Wines is embarking on an entire alphabet of wines.
We enjoyed a really chill wine tasting on the couches with Brittany who poured our wines, shared the story of this boutique McLaren Vale winery, and was also our photographer for the previous photo – thumbs up!
“I make interesting wines that have soul.” – Sam Berket
Earlier in this blog, I mentioned the accomplishments of Ben Glaetzer as an admirable winemaker in this region. At one point he was the youngest winemaker in Australia. Well it is my understanding that Sam Berket, the incredible winemaker of Alpha Box & Dice is making his mark in the wine industry and is just turning 30 this year. You might say he is the new kid on the block.
As the winery endeavours to complete an entire alphabet of wine, each letter embodies an individual winemaking project. It’s a really cool concept that everyone working for this fun winery contributes to. So far 20 letters have been ticked off and my girls are rooting for a J & N in the near future! Wink, Wink
A bottle of Tarot and a bottle of Icona came home with us following the tasting.
And finally… DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE we go!
Referred by literally “everyone” as a must-do in McLaren Vale, Down the Rabbit Hole did not disappoint. McLaren Vale’s newest cellar door is a beautiful blue double decker bus!
From the moment we walked up the lane for a sunset tasting, we met Elise Cook, Dom Palumbo and Matt Highet who shared their amazing hospitality. 
It was a windy evening in McLaren Vale but the warmest of vibes in this cozy winery. We tasted a flight of wines and enjoyed our favourites on their decked out tasting bus! This bus has a wonderfully romantic story travelling all the way to Australia from Scotland and then a cross continent adventure with Down the Rabbit Hole winery owners, Elise and Dom, to eventually park on this gorgeous spot overlooking their vineyards in McLaren Vale.
A great bottle of wine can transform your day into something pretty special.
The girls and I were enveloped in the moment of a gorgeous McLaren Vale sunset (even though it was a cloudy evening) under the stunning roof top of the Down the Rabbit Hole bus.
The hand sketched label on each bottle of wine represents a line from their beautiful poem which is written on the back of every bottle and is the essence of Down the Rabbit Hole Wines.
For Friends & Lovers a Place Exists
Another World of Joy & Bliss
Beyond The Stars, Space & Time
To Enter, Show the Secret Sign
The Moon is Bright, Revive Your Soul
Come Join Us Down The Rabbit Hole
We were captivated in the gypsy like world of Down the Rabbit Hole Wines and gifted ourselves with one of their signature gift boxes full of our new favourite wines. It presents so gorgeous in a “Tiffany Blue” box and we all know that the most wonderful things come in Tiffany boxes!
Let’s Be Adventurers…
A beautiful magical spot to end a week of wine tastings with my babies in McLaren Vale. The hospitality of Elise and Dom and Matt at their cellar door was so genuine. Thank you for letting us hang out in your world for awhile.
Down the Rabbit Hole 🐇 gorgeous wines, unique wine tasting bus, gypsy world. ❤️
Everything I thought McLaren Vale would be, it was, and more. From the people we met, the new friends we made, the places we explored, the beaches we drove on, the food we ate, the wine we drank, the views we took in, and those sunsets…wow – it was a taste of McLaren Vale and the incredible Fleurieu Peninsula that we will never forget. We know we need to return for many more adventures. Until then, for anyone visiting this incredible region, our experience is below:
THE TOUR:
Day 1:
Fly to Adelaide, rental car – approx. 40 minute drive to Port Noarlunga South
Check in at the Coast Motel and Apartments
Check out the beach town of Port Noarlunga with a walk on their famous jetty
Agathas Cafe for breakfast – try the orange blossom pancakes and the pesto sourdough with hollandaise!!
Drive through SipNSave
Sunset wine – our room with a view
Dinner at Boony’s for wood fired pizzas
Day 2:
Chapel Hill Wines – Best of Chapel Hill wine tasting
Beach Road Wines – wine tasting and lunch on the patio with a view
MollyDooker
Samuels Gorge – plan this at the end of the day and stay awhile
The iconic Salopian Inn for dinner and make a personal wine selection in their incredible cellar.
Day 3:
Woodstock Wines & the Wildlife Sanctuary – bottle feed kangaroos
D’Arenberg – lunch at d’Arrys Verandah, the Salvador Dali art exhibit and the Cube
Pirramimma
Victors Place – dinner, wine and brews with incredible views
Day 4:
Train ride to Adelaide from Port Noarlunga
Exploring Rundle Street
Shopping experience at the iconic Miss Gladys Sym Choon
East End Cellars in Adelaide – a wine and cheese and dining experience hosted by training Sommeliers. The best charcuterie boards – be sure to have the manchego cheese.
Later in the evening. – Mother Vine Wine Bar and NOLA
Day 5:
Swell Brewing Co. – craft beers and lunch in McLaren Vale
Alpha Box & Dice
Port Burger – best burgers in South Australia and a fabulous outback verandah patio
Day 6:
Star of Greece – a culinary experience and unbelievable views in Port Willunga
Explore Port Willunga – jetty ruins and beach caves
Sellicks Beach – gorgeous views and you can drive on the beach here!
Drive to Myponga & stop at the Smiling Samoyed Brewery
Down the Rabbit Hole Wines – stay awhile for a sunset wine experience
Day 7:
One final day exploring Port Noarlunga
Agathas Cafe for lunch – try the mushroom and pesto arancini !!
Shopping at the Boutiques – CharliRose and The Sound of White
Driving on the Beach – Moana Beach
Sunset views on the Southport Beach staircase
Almost forgot, you might need to buy a suitcase to bring home all of your wine!!
READ ABOUT MY 2023 VISIT TO MCLAREN VALE WITH THE FABULOUS GIRLS WINE SOCIETY (3-PART BLOG)
My Wine Playlist 
Beautiful Wine & Travel Blogs Rhonda!Awesome and Love It!Felt like Im also in the tour heheh☺️ So Nice to see all of your photos and to know all the details of it.You threes are ever Gorgeous!God bless😇
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