Part 1 of 3 McLaren Vale: A Wine Tour Down Under with the Fabulous Girls Wine Society

Here we are about to embark on an extraordinary wine adventure in McLaren Vale, South Australia!

So many wineries. So many stories. Part 1 of a 3-part blog – enjoy!

Fabulous Girls Wine Society – Kim, Shannon, Rhonda

The Fabulous Girls Wine Society. Big Nose. Full Body. Great Legs. We are a group of friends who love wine, spending time together, supporting each other and having fun. We take our turn hosting informal wine-themed evenings the last Friday of every month and have been together for over 17 years! I was able to recruit two from our group to join me Down Under for a return visit to one of my favourite wine regions in the world.

A gorgeous McLaren Vale view from Beach Road Wines

Best known for Shiraz and Grenache, McLaren Vale’s Mediterranean-like climate has inspired the region to produce Spanish and Italian varieties such as Fiano, Vermentino, Nero d’Avola, Tempranillo, and Sangiovese to name a few. My first ever visit to the region was in September 2019 – LINK TO MY 2019 WINE BLOG HERE – and once more in February 2020 right before a worldwide pandemic shut everything down. It is so good to be back three years later and see many familiar and many new McLaren Vale wineries thriving and producing amazing wine.

Our home base on the Coast with the most.
Coast Motel & Apartments

Throwback to 2019 enjoying a glass of wine and the ocean view with my daughters at Coast Motel & Apartments

The Coast Motel and Apartments is still the #1 place to stay in South Australia for its views and comfort. The apartments are all ocean-facing and its location is a perfect home base for McLaren Vale wine touring. Situated in Port Noarlunga South in the heart of the Fleurieu Peninsula, the McLaren Vale wineries are only a 10 to 20-minute drive away as are the region’s most beautiful beaches. In fact, one of the best beaches, sunset spots, and most famous staircases is right across the street.

**Fun Fact:** The iconic Southport Beach stairs across the street have been photographed by many including local legend, Josh Coulter aka @Flowcreator on Instagram, whose famous photo is now on the label of a local brew by Kick Back Brewing.

Jacqui and her team at the Coast Motel & Apartments are like family and go out of their way to ensure you have everything you need for a perfect stay including lots of hangers AND an extra rack to hang our clothes on. Three women…lots of clothes : – ).

Sunset view from Room 12 – Coast Motel & Apartments – Port Noarlunga South

21 wineries in 11 days

Believe it or not, our McLaren Vale wine tour started with a gin tasting. Started by three mates, the world-famous Never Never Gin Distillery has been winning ‘Best of Gin” awards year after year since opening. They share a gorgeous top spot on a hill with Chalk Hill Winery. Stretching from Mt Lofty Ranges to the iconic South Australian coastline, the stunning views of the picturesque McLaren Vale from here are worth the visit alone.

“the Never Never is the space beyond the horizon and between the stars. To step into it is to step into the unknown, it is to seek adventure”.
Never Never Gin Distillery

Wine is a little more my style but I gave the gin tasting a go knowing my friends would love it and they did! We did the self-guided Gin & Tonic tasting flight set up for us by our lovely server, Tarn. We tasted three gins and got to try the exclusive 2022 Ginache Gin made with Grenache grapes and Never Never’s Triple Juniper Gin. That’s a gin I can get behind. We each brought home a bottle of the fan favourite of our group, and winner of many world’s best awards, the Never Never Juniper Freak Gin.

A trip down memory lane. I spotted a tree that was ceremoniously planted on the Chalk Hill lawn during my February 2020 visit when the venue opened. Three years later and look at it now (I took a photo below). Keep growing little one!

During our tasting, we enjoyed pizza and arancini ordered from the on-site restaurant, Cucina de Strada, before taking ten giant steps across the patio to the Chalk Hill cellar door.

“Top of the shop”
Chalk Hill Wines

Sipping wine in the Chalk Hill cellar door with a view of Never Never Distillery on the other side of the patio.

I highly recommend reservations for a Chalk Hill tasting experience as the cellar door can get quite busy. We were so lucky to meet Chris, the cellar door manager who shared the fabulous range of wines and his knowledge while thoroughly entertaining us with his Brit wit and humour. We stayed for 4 hours and left with a bottle to share on the beach for sunset. Thank you, Chris!

Chalk Hill Wines is owned by the Harvey family who makes small-batch, estate-grown wines. They started as grape growers for some of the best wineries in Australia before they naturally started producing wine of their own.

Chalk Hill’s modern cellar door is nestled in the hilltop of its Chalk Hill vineyard planted in 1969 and is one of the family’s six McLaren Vale region vineyards. Chris shared with us the “top of the shop” Alpha Crucis label wines made by notable winemaker, Renae Hirsch, who also makes wines for award-winning Hugo Wines. We tasted the 2021 Mataro Grenache (a wine club exclusive) and 2020 Syrah from 4 vineyards- Blewitt Springs, Clarendon, Sea View, and McLaren Vale. Our favourite of all was the 2020 Syrah Clarendon which we also selected as our sunset wine.

Sunset at Southport Beach with Chalk Hill’s Alpha Crucis 2020 Syrah Clarendon

GETTING AROUND

I always recommend hiring a private driver for wine tours and especially in this region. This gives you the opportunity to customize your own tour. We selected our wineries based on the wines we enjoy, the experiences offered, and our interest in the area. And we had some surprises along the way.

Ubers in the area are fickle with no commitment to pick up, often cancelling rides that they have accepted and leaving guests stranded. This happened to us on three occasions but when we needed a rescue the most amazing locals showed up. The people are soooo friendly in the region. I can’t say that enough. I think you will feel that throughout this blog. More to come.

We were lucky to have a local connection who we hired to drive us on our wine tour and took some great photos! For our “off” wine tour days we hired the daughter of a friend’s neighbour who was happy to make some cash on the side and pick us up from the local restaurants. She was lovely.

We did have a car rental to get us to and from the airport and to explore the beaches of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Here we are driving on the beach!

Driving on Sellicks Beach

I think we did McLaren Vale right! If you are planning a trip to this region, and love wine, I’ve shared our itinerary at the end of this blog.

“Going to the Chapel”
Chapel Hill Winery

Unique wine-tasting experiences begin at Chapel Hill. We were hosted to a self-guided Iconic wine tasting in the historic ironstone chapel which is also the namesake of this winery. I am quite familiar with these wines in Canada and a bottle (or two) often appears in my shopping basket at the local wine shop. As a marketer I live for brand stories and being immersed in the history of where it all started feels very special. The Chapel houses a stained glass window that dates back to 1770 which has long been the iconic logo on the label for Chapel Hill Wines.

The Vicar, Chapel Hill’s flagship wine is my favourite and is described as pure luxury. The Vicar is selected annually from Chapel Hill’s most outstanding parcels of McLaren Vale Shiraz making it a pure representation of the region. It was a bit serendipitous to taste 2019 The Vicar as that was the year of my last visit to the Chapel Hill Winery. READ MORE ABOUT CHAPEL HILL ON MY 2019 MCLAREN VALE WINE BLOG

“Cheers to Pals”
Justin McNamee, Samuel’s Gorge

When asked to name my #1 favourite McLaren Vale winery the answer is still Samuel’s Gorge. I discovered this special place in 2019 on a wine tour with my daughters and in my opinion, it is a must-visit on any McLaren Vale wine tour. The 1850s rustic barn charm of the cellar door with its sweeping views of the gorge and its gorgeous wines is hard to resist.

Meeting winemaker Justin McNamee and Luas aka chicken whisperer (right) at Samuel’s Gorge cellar door

“It’s your party, my house.”
Justin McNamee, Samuel’s Gorge

Winemaker Justin McNamee joins our table on a Friday arvo offering us a house tasting of his fabulous wines. It doesn’t get more authentic than Justin. He is super passionate about the experience that people have with wine and creates wines that effortlessly bring a smile to your face.

As a lover of reds, Samuel’s Gorge has my heart with its five key varietals – Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre, Graciano and Tempranillo. I was most excited to taste the Mosaic of Dreams, a Grenache-based blend with Mourvedre, Shiraz and Carignan. It’s a true expression of the essence of Samuel’s Gorge in a bottle. It was also excellent to try the new colours in the line-up including a white, a “non-pink” rosé, and a red under the Pinata People label. Fun wines celebrating fun people.

Samuel’s Gorge makes small-batch wines and they sell out quickly. Lucky me, I was able to bring home a bottle of the Mosaic of Dreams, now sold out, to enjoy a taste of Samuel’s Gorge when I am back in Canada.

The Fabulous Girls Wine Society at Samuel’s Gorge with winemaker, Justin McNamee

Thank you to Justin and friends for an awesome arvo in your special place.

Samuel’s Gorge wines paired perfectly with our sunsets on the beach and the rest of our time in Australia.

Sunset at Southport Beach with a bottle of Samuel’s Gorge Grenache

“Sharing bloody good wine”
Thicker than Water

This winery wants to take you on a journey, change how you feel, and share some bloody good wine, as stated on its website and has made impressive moves this summer with a new name and a new cellar door. Formerly McLaren Vale III Associates, the business is now 100% Greer family-owned and has rebranded as Thicker Than Water. But what remains the same is the award-winning estate-grown wines. Its most famous Squid Ink Shiraz got its name in honour of the ocean and the purple patch vineyard that delivers its intense colour in the glass.

A purple glow welcomes you through the entrance of this ultra-modern cellar door. Made from custom-designed shipping containers, the tasting room is beautifully styled with modern furnishings and large windows offering blue sky and vineyard views. Our host, Tracy, served up our wine tasting in Riedel glassware including a Shiraz glass (pictured below) which is truly a game changer for the nose.

What a treat to meet winemaker, Campbell Greer, and his fabulous smile when he popped into the tasting room as we were sipping the 2020 Giant Squid Ink Shiraz. It’s a vintage the winemaker is proud of despite the challenges of the worldwide pandemic right at the start of vintage. Campbell shared stories of his winemaking experiences in the amazing wine region of Paso Robles and of fun times spent in Canada. We could have stayed for hours, and almost did lol. Tracy kindly wrapped up a bottle of the 2020 Giant Squid Ink Shiraz in bubble wrap for my suitcase home and we were off to the next cellar door.

Thicker than Water winemaker Campbell Greer with the Fabulous Girls Wine Society – Rhonda, Shannon, Kim

Oh, Canada! Canadian winemakers are making their mark in McLaren Vale

“The best wines are the ones we drink with friends”
Zonte’s Footsteps

The minute we walked into Zonte’s Footstep Cellar Door we felt right at home with a big hug from winemaker and fellow Canadian, Brad Rey. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Brad is living his best life in Australia making wines to be enjoyed in the moment. His belief that all wines are personalities each with a unique fingerprint is expressed in every Zonte’s bottle with a quirky name and an interesting backstory.

“Rhonda wine” The Love Symbol McLaren Vale Grenache on the right

We had our own fun Zonte’s themed backstory to share with Brad from one of our Fabulous Girls Wine Society Friday nights. Our theme that month was ‘wine personalities’. We drew names and had to bring a wine that made us think of that person. My friend and wine adventurer, Kim (pictured below) selected The Love Symbol McLaren Vale Grenache as my wine personality knowing my love for McLaren Vale wines and the region. Seeing the “Rhonda wine” on a shelf behind the bar at Zonte’s Footsteps was perfect and pretty cool. So fun!

Behind the bar at Zonte’s Footsteps Cellar Door with Josh (aka Flowcreator), Kim and Shannon

There are so many fantastic Zonte’s Footsteps labels and we were treated to a few not yet available in Canada pictured below. We tasted the 2020 Madrugador, which is Spanish for early riser, describing this early ripening variety Tempranillo. The Super Trooper Shiraz Cabernet was a highlight of Brad’s and ours. Its backstory centers around a bush-camping trip with the Zonte’s team where the final blend was confirmed in a back-of-the-ute tasting. Brad’s stories are awesome and really connect you with the wines. Another fascinating share was his analogy that a good Shiraz is like a surfboard with big rails of juicy fruit and getting length and persistence in the finish. (I’m more of a wine drinker by the ocean than a surfer so I hope I got that analogy right lol).

Our fan favourite of the tasting was the 2021 Rosso Cova McLaren Vale Montepulciano (or “Monte” for short) and an invitation from Brad that if we were hungry he could fire up the kitchen. Apparently, this winemaker/vigneron is also a chef. A Zonte’s Footsteps Cellar Door & Kitchen experience will definitely be included on my next visit to McLaren Vale.

“An unlikely partnership between a winemaker, a vinticulturalist and a grape grower.”
the Dodgy Brothers

Another Canadian making wine in Australia is Wes Pearson from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is the winemaker of a trio that is the Dodgy Brothers producing small-batch wines available only in their winery and at a few local restaurants. Wes also expresses his creativity through a second label called Juxtaposed wines. The labels feature the work of a local artist and the images are so gorgeous.

A cool story that Wes shared is that his full-time job by day is as a Sensory Research Scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute at the University of Adelaide. Hmmm, maybe this winemaker has a superpower : ) . As a winemaker, Wes’ philosophy is to put the work into the vineyard so that you don’t have to do any in the winery. The focus is on the grape that is turned into wine.

Winemaker Wes Pearson with the Fabulous Girls Wine Society – Rhonda, Kim, Shannon

Magic hour at Mollydooker

When the cellar doors closed for the day we took in a Friday night sunset event at Mollydooker Wines to enjoy the views, pizza and wine. We shared a bottle of Enchanted Path prepped for us with the famous Mollydooker Shake by the lovely Jada.