Part 2 of 3 McLaren Vale: A Wine Tour Down Under with the Fabulous Girls Wine Society

“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.”
Paulo Coelho, Brida

Sipping wine in the Woodstock Wine Cellar Door Tasting Room with Shannon and Kim. Photo credit: Josh Coulter

“Good food with great wine in great company”
Woodstock Winery

The Woodstock Wine Estate has it all towering ancient gum trees, native gardens, century-old vines, and fabulous wines. But one of the best things of all is its wildlife sanctuary! Even if you aren’t a wine lover, a visit to Woodstock is a must. The feeding experience in the wildlife sanctuary is very special. For a donation, small groups participate in the daily feedings of rescued kangaroos, wallabies and a flirty emu named Maverick.

I spent most of my time with this gem…

In the cellar door, we enjoyed a flight of Grenache made by third-generation winemaker Peter Collett. We started from a Grenache Rosé to a Vintage Fortified wine with the 2022 Free Borough Grenache and 2018 The Octogenarian Grenache in between.

“forte e gentile” meaning “strong and gentle”
Frank Mitolo, Mitolo Wines

After two McLaren Vale wine tours, I finally made it to Mitolo Wines. If you follow me on Instagram @mywineplaylist it’s no secret that I am a fan of South Australian winemaker, Ben Glaetzer, who has his own wines but also a stake in many McLaren Vale wineries including Mitolo. In partnership with Frank Mitolo, this superstar winemaker is making impressive wines for the label. The Mitolo family’s Italian-Australian heritage shines through the craftsmanship and presentation with playful personalities behind each bottle embodying the motto of Abruzzo, from where the family originates, “forte e gentile” meaning strong and gentle.

This cellar door is impressive, very modern, very fancy, very popular and very busy. You definitely need a reservation to get in. We booked the Mitolo Master Class which gave us a tasting of seven Mitolo wines and small plates locally sourced by the kitchen. That pita bread – Buono!

My top picks of the seven wines (I had to choose four) included the 2022 Jester Sangiovese Rosé, light in colour and full of flavour and texture. Delish. The 2019 G.A.M. Shiraz was fun. One might guess a blend from the name but it is 100% Shiraz named after Frank Mitolo’s three children – Gemma, Alex, and Marco. Cute! I enjoyed 2020 Jester Grenache which is fabulous and was surprised to learn that Grenache being one of the region’s prized varietals only represents 6% of McLaren Vale’s plantings.

My #1 favourite at the end of the tasting was the 2019 Angela Shiraz. It’s a gorgeous wine with a fabulous story. The wine is dedicated to the mothers of the winemaker and the wine grower. The grapes for the Angela Shiraz (which is the name of Frank Mitolo’s mother) are sourced from Sandra’s Block (the namesake of the matriarch of the grape growers, the Lopresti family). It is obvious at Mitolo Wines that ‘Famiglia’ is everything and I love that. In that spirit, I dedicated this tasting to my little sis who is also named Angela. Cheers to family and friends and good times. How fun is this photo!

The Fabulous Girls Wine Society with our fabulous Aussie friend Jazz at Mitolo Wines

“We are..”
Somos Wines

Opening soon… this winery is making small batch hand-made wines, winning awards, and their brand new cellar door is almost open! Somos means “we are” in Spanish.

Standing behind what will be the tasting bar at Somos and tasting some of their fabulous fresh wines.

We are thrilled to get a sneak preview of this new McLaren Vale cellar door hosted by one of my favourite locals, Justin White, Somos Sales and Marketing Manager, and rockstar photographer. He literally shoots rockstars at music venues all over Australia and you can follow his work on Instagram at @rebelrebelgig and @hi_fi_way.

Justin shared a range of Somos wines that are still in stock. Winemakers, Ben and Mauricio, have quite a following and their wines sell out quickly on release. The rise in popularity of orange wine and the unique style of the Somos Naranjito is one of those. The wines are also exported back to South & Central America and sold through just a handful of local outlets and restaurants.

Fun, energetic unique wines. With Minimal intervention. Single vineyard. Small ferments. Big interest.

The Somos Cellar Door extends to the lawn and we enjoyed the scenery. You might call this a grassroots tasting lol. It’s so pretty. Looking forward to seeing the photos that people take of this great spot when it officially opens.

We also went behind the scenes to the working winery

I am excited to bring home a bottle of the 2022 Somos Fresa Fresca “Strawberry Fresh” seen all over social media which shows off the creativity of the Somos winemakers. As per the tasting notes, the Mencia grapes are direct pressed and fermented wild. The winemakers then froze a bit of the Mencia juice and add it back later. The result is a pinotesque, cherried, strawberries, and fruity sparkling rose to drink cold. It’s a sweet surprise for my daughter celebrating her 22 birthday this week.

The Fabulous Girls Wine Society at Somos Wines with host Justin White and our wonderful driver and friend, Josh Coulter.

“If you got the time, I’ve got the bottles baby”
Winemaker, Andy Coppard, Lino Ramble Wines

Sometimes the best things happen when you cross the road. Lino Ramble was a surprising wine stop for us and one of the most fun. Located on a star-studded winery road we noticed it on the drive in and out of Mitolo. A highly recommended stop by our friend Jazz who promised we wouldn’t be disappointed. Winemaker, Andy Coppard, was on-site and welcomed us to park ourselves at the tasting room bar for a fabulous lineup of reds.

A hidden gem in McLaren Vale, the Lino Ramble cellar door had its beginnings as a pop-up in Port Noarlunga (how did I not know this!?) before moving in (during the pandemic) to a cottage shared by two other small producers on 148 McMurtrie Road.

Fun playful creative. Labels are designs of retro linoleum patterns, named after childhood games, often paired with a song on a vinyl record, and full of adventure. These hand-made wines are focused on fruit character being the star of the show and the winemaking “fingerprint” kept to a minimum.

We tasted a range of the reds a few of my faves being the Marco Polo Sangiovese to my favourite Simon Says Saperavi, a varietal that originates from Georgia. Saperavi is the oldest grape known to humans, dating back to the invention of winemaking in Georgia in 6000 BC. “Saperavi” means ink and when you look at the colour in your glass you will understand why. It is as black as the ace of spades and delivers a textured, full-bodied red wine. Knowing how much I appreciated this wine, Andy recommended that our next stop be Hugh Hamilton Wines, famous for the highest-rated Saperavi in McLaren Vale and the first producers of the drop in the region.

And so we did…

A Lino Ramble Pee Wee Novello Nero d’Avola paired nicely on the beach with charcuterie and a picnic rug from Wandering Folk.

“Every family has one.”
Black Sheep, Hugh Hamilton Wines

Hugh Hamilton is known as the Black Sheep of the family and his wines are far from ordinary. A story that is visually branded as an iconic black and white sheep is woven through his winemaking. The ‘black sheep’ nods to the distinct personality trait that dwells in the family’s bloodline – independent, bold, and doing things their own way. Every family has one.

Hugh Hamilton and his daughter Mary Hamilton are the 5th and 6th generation of the Australian Hamilton wine dynasty that stretches back over 180 years. In 1837 Hugh’s great great grandfather Richard emigrated to the new colony of South Australia and planted Australia’s first wine grapes.

There is a roster of interesting family and friends to meet at Hugh Hamilton including ‘The Rascal’, ‘The Drama Queen’, ‘The Villain’, ‘The Floozie’, ‘The Disrupter’, ‘The Three-Card Monte’, and ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ to name a few. Oh, and there is also a ‘Cinderella’ wine!

With Georgia on our mind, I mean Saperavi of course, we arrived with a mission to meet ‘The Black Ops’ and ‘The Oddball’ and they did not disappoint. The Saperavi grape is known to be the diva of the wine world, enticing consumers with its bold and unique characteristics. – much like the ‘Black sheep’ persona.

The ‘Black Ops Shiraz Saperavi’ is a unique union of the most ancient grape on the planet, Saperavi with McLaren Vale’s prized Shiraz. Hugh Hamilton describes it on the website as an elixir that was covertly blended opening Pandora’s box of flavour. A wine for the FBI, CIA and civilians. Seek & embrace the unusual. ‘Black Ops’ Shiraz Saperavi is the only blend of this type in the world and it will not disappoint!

The ‘Oddball’ (pictured left above) is 100% Saperavi and the packaging gives an ethnic Georgian look with its curvy script and the addition of the currency coin.

Hugh Hamilton’s Cellar Door is gorgeous offering up 270-degree views of McLaren Vale. We had a really fun and informative wine-tasting experience with our lovely host, Kath, in the tasting room and left with a couple bottles of Saperavi to enjoy for the rest of our trip.

“Wine Life”
Big Easy Radio

Wine life is the motto of this chill winery and is fitting for our Fabulous Girls Wine Society McLaren Vale wine adventure. Big Easy Radio is all about easy drinking wine and good times. We were feeling the beach vibes of this bright and fun cellar door located at Aldinga Beach.

We made it just in time to enjoy some live music and share a bottle of wine with new friends…

And meet this famous dog. Rescued as a pup from the Kangaroo Island bushfires, Dusty is an ambassador for the Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island with his own Instagram account. Follow his adventures on Instagram @dusty_the_ki_kelpie.

Unclad at Ivybrook Farm

David Hunt and his winemaker son, Nick Hunt, greeted us with the friendliest smiles for our visit to the family’s restored 1898 stone barn. Ivybrook farm is so pretty and with the nicest people. A great spot to take photos ‘for the gram’ and you can buy items to build your own charcuterie platter or order one of their gourmet pizzas for a picnic.

The family has lived and farmed the land for five generations and now they are making their own wine. A standout in their roster of wines is the Unclad series. Inspired by its environment, the Unclad series is a reflection of the all-natural environment of the region and a nod to Maslin Beach just 5 minutes down the road which is most famous for its nude beach.