The Auswine Forum

My wife and I went to SA for the June long weekend and had a great time overall. We are planning to go back in March so that we get to see some vineyard colours.

Day 2 McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills

Day 2 was a Sunday and it was the first day of Sea and Vines festival. It probably wasn't an ideal time to visit for tastings. I was aware in advance we would need to buy by the glass to taste wines.

d'Arenberg was the first vineyard. We arrived at 10.20am and I think it was about 7 degrees... They were still setting up and advised they wouldn't start until 11am. So after walking around and taking a few photos we decided to leave. I asked the guys in the Marque if I could buy some wine (Dead Arm) to take away, we were then advised the Cellar Door was open. A nice fire going and we got a chance to warm up.

Tried Galvos Garage ($8 a glass) and Coppermine Road ($14 a glass). They were good but not great. Might have been that it was early morning and cold cold cold. I bought a half bottle of Dead Arm to take away. I wasn't paying $14 for another glass of wine. No tastings when Sea and Vines is on.

(I cringe to write this) The staff were obviously very busy that morning and we were standing there for about 10 mins before being served. I did ask if they were open and they replied with a "yes" but then went about doing other stuff rather than serving. 5/10

Maxwell Wines was our next stop. The band was playing and plenty of people eating and drinking. A complete change to d'Arenberg in the sense they were prepared to allow a tasting. I offered to pay for the glasses and the owner (Mark??) said no, have a taste and we'll see what happens. There would have been 100 or more people there for the Sea and Vines festival so I really appreciated the owner taking us through the range. I enjoyed all of the wines but especially the Lime Cave Reserve Cabernet and the Ellen Shiraz. We bought a case and had it shipped back. What a great range of wines and great service. It will ensure I continue to buy Maxwell for a long time yet (hadn't tried them before). We didn't try the Mead wines but I hear they are good. 8.5/10

Wirra Wirra was our last winery in McLaren Vale. This winery has to be in a purple patch right now. I already loved their "The Angelus" and "RSW" wines and was keen to visit them. I was very impressed with the cellar door. Very stylish and well set up. Even though it was the festival, Wirra Wirra still had a tasting area and a separate purchase area where a band was playing. Great Service. We tried all the wines up to "the Angelus" and "RSW". I was very impressed with the Woodhenge Shiraz (which they had on special for $25). Bought 2 bottles of '96 The Angelus and 4 bottles of Woodhenge. I think Scrubby Rise and Church Block continue to be excellent value for money wines. I hadn't tried any of their whites before and I really enjoyed them. Best part was now my wife isn't on my case about all of the wines with Wirra Wirra on the label... 9.9/10 The best we went to all trip. Can't recommend them enough.

Lunch at Hahndorf. Had one of the best Steak sandwiches I've ever had. Nice spot to visit though I wouldn't try to fit it in during winery tours in McLaren and Barossa. A bit out of the way.

Hahndorf Hill winery was the next stop. Nice trendy cellar door and they seem to have a good crowd in for lunch. Very small samples for tasting, they don't produce a lot of wine. Nice wines throughout the range, although the Shiraz was not to my liking. My wife liked their Sauvignon Blanc (and their Shiraz... go figure). Very informative service and nice feel to the cellar door. 6/10

Last stop was Bridgewater Mill. We should have had lunch here. looked great. Very big and very nice Cellar Door. I would recommend a visit if you are wanting to tour the Adelaide Hills. Tried all of the wines and enjoyed them all except the Petaluma Adelaide Hills Shiraz. I don't think its my style. They had a few back vintage wines available. We were talking to one of the girls there and she was from the Hunter Valley. That is where my wife and I originate from. Had a great chat about what she wanted to do career wise etc.. Bought a bottle of Petaluma for staff rate... 8/10

On the Monday (Day 3) we had lunch at Esca restaurant in Glenelg (Mariner side). Simply superb!! Try it out.

We had such a great time will be back for more and more.

I would also like to say that Gavin (our forum moderator) was very helpfull in helping me ship wine back. I dropped off some wine on the Monday to his place and it arrived on Thursday (before all other wine shipments). Thanks Gavin

Not necessarily based on being the best wine but for me the the best winery was Wirra Wirra followed closely by Torbreck. We are going to stay in either Glenelg or McLaren Vale next trip (depending on the time of year we visit - we want to go to McLaren Vale for the Sea and Vines and not be on a tasting tour)

glad to see wirra wirra get a good write up. they were bloody hopeless when we were there 8 years ago!

Scuzzi, I too had a disapointing visit to D'arenberg about a year ago. The Cellar door has been subsumed by an overpriced restaurant. Why can't cellar doors put on a simple plate of a couple of cheeses, a few olives, maybe a bit of charcuterie and a lump of nice bread for $10-12 rather than some imitation nouvelle cuisine for $28-35?

That would make a visit much more convivial, an possible even sell more wine.

When I went to Sea and Vines in 1998 d'Arenberg were a highlight. They poured glasses of dead arm and even gave us a lift home. Fantastic people. Just in the interest of balanced opinion of course.

GW
http://www.winorama.com.au

Craig(NZ) wrote:they were bloody hopeless when we were there 8 years ago!

Good to see you don't hold a grudge Craig .

Agree totally with Darby that the d'Arenberg cellar door is overshadowed by the restaurant. With such a large range, I also feel that the staff there rushed through the tasting process a bit. Excusable I suppose given how busy they are.

Nice notes Scuzzi.

In fairness D'Arenberg was, like everywhere else that Sunday, absolutely packed. Perhaps the staff were a little stressed anticipating the rush when you arrived. We were there around 2pm and they were great.

In fact this year's event was so crowded I'm not sure I'll be attending again. It used to be pleasantly busy but this time there was a lot of arrogance and ill-manners apparent (from the visitors, not the wineries).

Cheers,

silkwood wrote:In fairness D'Arenberg was, like everywhere else that Sunday, absolutely packed. Perhaps the staff were a little stressed anticipating the rush when you arrived. We were there around 2pm and they were great.

In fact this year's event was so crowded I'm not sure I'll be attending again. It used to be pleasantly busy but this time there was a lot of arrogance and ill-manners apparent (from the visitors, not the wineries).

Cheers,

I suspect you are right. Within 20 mins the place went from empty to half full and it wasn't even 11am (the official kick off). They had 3 large marque tents and I'm sure "everyone" hits d'Arenberg on a day like that. I would imagine this would be a different situation any other day..

Seems as though later in the day was a better time to go.

Heading off to Adelaide tonight for the weekend, will be staying in Glenelg and based on recommendations from a previous post will be heading up to the Adelaide Hills for lunch at the Bridgewater Mill tomorrow, am looking forward to it even more now!!.

Will have time to visit a few other cellar door in the region, would appreciate any suggestions on which cellar doors we should try to visit.

Thanks,

Barney