This was our first stop on our private wine tasting tour of McLaren Vale…read more This place has an interesting story and logo having been started by a bunch of left-handed folks. Their logo is a left-handed boxer. They also have a bit of whimsy in their labels with most of the varieties having an association with one or more members of the family. We enjoyed meeting the friendly folks and tasting their great wines. Some of our favorites were Blue eyed boy and carnival although all of the six or so we tasted were great. They have some distribution in the states (unique among the wineries we visited) and a warehouse in California for ordering through a website. We also had a quick peek into the winery itself with a guide. We had to don fluorescent orange safety jackets in compliance with safety regulations even though there was no activity underway in the place. We did get to try some wine in the tanks getting ready for final blending and bottling. Definitely a high point of the six wineries we stopped to visit during our visit to the area.

This is one cellar door with a view for sure! I really would love to return to this cellar door…read moreduring the summer months to sip a glass of wine and take in those almost 360degree views of the Adelaide Hills & Onkaparinga Hills. This cellar looks almost like someone's home. It probably once was and has now been converted into a Cellar door. There is a cute little gas fireplace upon the entry. Check out the photos. Very inviting for sure! It has a very simple layout and tasting room towards the back. Throughout the cellar door you will find cardboard cut outs and posters on display of the various characters and art pieces for the wines. Each have their own story. Be sure to ask about them. There are a lot of wines here to try! So, be sure to set aside a bit of time to try them all. What is first attractive about the wines is the thought and stories attached to the imagery. I am a sucker for cute art, so you won me there! As for the wine, I think my favourite was The Maitre D, Cab Sav. It had a lovely deep berry smell and was quite smooth to drink. Priced right and is my recommendation here. I really wanted to try the Velvet Glove (with a really cool Velvet Label), but it was unavailable for taste. Dang!

I should begin by saying I'm not a wine buff. I like it, but I'm by no means an expert. However I…read moredo like my wine, and visiting South Australia i wanted to have an experience at a winery down here. We chose this winery not because we had heard of it, or for its reputation but because I tend to just make a selection on a whim and go with it. I was not disappointed. When you drive off of the road onto the dusty gravel drive and follow this to the tin building at the end, you would be forgiven for thinking this is a poky little place with little to offer. Think again. From the moment you step inside it is crystal clear that a great deal of thought has been put into it. It is simple, but very warm and friendly. It is very rustic, but welcoming and family friendly. This isn't a winery where your ignorance of wine is dismissed or where you are made to feel as though you should know more than you do. We sampled around 9 or 10 wines whilst at Mount Jagged, and the selection was very varied. They produce Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and there was a real cross section available to taste, catering for all of the different palates of my party. In addition, there are tables and chairs inside and out, sign fantastic views. And for those visiting with children, a fantastic children's corner to keep the little ones busy while we sampled their wares. As if this was my good enough, the staff are very welcoming and very engaging, showing a lot of interest in our children, offering them juice and spending a lot of time with us to explain the wines each in detail. Nothing was too much trouble. I would definitely recommend stopping by. The pictures on previous reviews may be a little out of date now in 2017...so I have supplied a few of my own. Definitely recommend visiting Mount Jagged

This is a great little winery…read more Super basic and rustic in its decor and presentation. The cellar door is literally a tin shed which displays its own special charm on entry, not contributed least of all to by the view. The green rolling hills covered in vines with a well appointed dam just to the left work their immediate winery magic on me. The sparklings are of particular note and if you enjoy a medium bodied red you will likely find something here to appeal to your palette. I love trying reds such as those from the cool climate vineyards of Mount Jagged which are so different in character to the highly commercialised and popular Barossa and McLaren Vale offerings typical in South Australia. Their whites were not for me with some pleasant food wines, including grape varieties such as sem, sauv and chardonnay which for the most part displayed distinctive mineral characteristics. The liberal use of french oak may also be of interest to certain connoiseurs. Me - I just like to pick a glass and enjoy the scenery!

Despite a somewhat corporate feel, we were treated to personal, friendly service in a laid-back,…read moreuncrowded environment, with a wide variety of wines to try. All of them were good, but some of the single vineyard shiraz was especially good for the price, and their higher-end flagship wines (at $70/bottle) were excellent, including a rich, inky shiraz and the Absconder, an interesting and herbaceous grenache (this was my favorite overall, but we ended up buying a $35 Woodhenge shiraz)

What is not to love about a winery in winter that has a wood fire going??…read more Upon entry we were greeted by the cellar door staff who apologized that the fire was not as warm as it should be, he didnt force us to have a tasting but more so just let us be as we walked around and just took in the place and the scenery. There is a lot art work around the place which you can wander through in your own time. The wine selection is nice and the staff are knowledgeable about the varieties. I did enjoy these wine more so a few years ago but in saying that you cant go past a glass (or bottle!) of Church Block. They have cheese and crackers for purchase if you want to have more than just a tasting where you can sit inside next to the fire or outside. They also have a box of toys in the cellar door corner to keep little people entertained.

The food was amazing. Everything was tasty. The service was great we came for lunch we ordered the…read moreset menu and our waitress Daniella was very attentive, friendly and helpful recommended some great white wine for a hot summer day. Ambiance was great we sat outside overlook at the vineyard

While it is a bit gimmicky and a bit of a tourist trap, it is, indeed, different and unique, so if…read moreyou're looking for something off the beaten path, this may be up your alley. You pay $15 entry fee just to see the inside of the building, resembling a twisted rubik's cube (they currently have a Salvador Dali sculpture exhibit which you can pay an additional $10 to see), and there is a bottom floor of... strange, modern, occasionally-creepy art. Then you go up to the top floor for tastings, which allows you to try the whole menu. On the plus side, there is a nice variety of styles and varietals here, including more unique ones like sparkling chambourcin and naturally fermented sagrantino. On the other hand, none of the wines were really stand-outs to me, thus we didn't buy any (their high-end shiraz was good, but not worth the $100+ pricetag) Still, an interesting place to visit and experience, so I'm glad we gave it a try.

Another hidden gem in McLaren Vale wine region that we visited on a recent tasting tour. All there…read morewines had a "fox" theme. For example, Arctic fox - a nice white sparkling wine and Vixen an unusual but tasty sparkling red-Shiraz-cab blend. We enjoyed our short visit and like all the wineries we visited on our tour, tasting was free and there was absolutely no pressure to buy anything although I couldn't resist trying to tuck a bottle of vixen into my luggage for the trip back to the states. highly recommended

An absolutely beautiful wine tasting cottage. A must go see. They have some great wines. Check out…read morethe Sparkling Shiraz vixen. For the kids there's a scavenger hunt which keeps them busy so parents can Taste wine. Really nice!!

I am so glad that there are people out there who sit and wonder how different foods would go…read moretogether! This has to be one of the best experience of taste that we have had in a while and we like to eat The view from the deck is fantastic and the wine pairings work very well. The 3 course menu is plenty to eat and be sure and try the watermelon desert.

We visited this delightful winery as part of a private wine tour with Taste of South Australia…read more Unlike tasting rooms in the states, this one was no charge. We tried a wide variety of their wines including: -Verdelho - excellent fruity white wine -Rose- light red and tastes of raspberry -Little demon blend ( cab+Malbec) - delicious raspberries and chocolate - Malbec - very dry, fruit forward - K.i Shiraz - tastes of the sea (our least favorite) - Lime cave cab -typical big cab, earthy - Eocene ancient vines Shiraz -balanced and rich - really good. Prices at the winery were very reasonable ranging from $23-$40 per bottle. The quality of the wines could easily support higher prices if they were available in the states ( which unfortunately they are not ). Super friendly people round out this great spot. Recommended.

Getting caught up in the magic of a wedding between two people you really admire is all the more…read morespecial when you do it at a place like Lazy Ballerina. This was the setting for the wedding ceremony of a couple of great friends, and they got a spectacular day for it. I am a little biased because I grew up down the road from the Kuitpo forest and every time I get to go back I'm always reminded of how lucky we were to be raised here. The front garden is beautifully laid out, with clear paths to direct you to the expansive back lawn and garden area, with views of some parts of Kuitpo forest (it's a huge forest) and livestock in the neighbouring paddock. The cellar door is run by a couple of lovely folks. Very personable, friendly and hospitable. As far as the wines go, I will direct you to their website for tasting notes; my personal favourites were the 2010 shiraz and the sauv blanc. If you're meandering through the hills on your way to somewhere like Willunga/Victor Harbour, pop in here for a look. If its a sunny day, you'll want to stay and spend the afternoon sipping wines on the deck, I guarantee it.

From the owner: Family and pet friendly wine business. Perfect for a lazy day out.read more

I have heard nothing but good things about Ekhinda Wines. We stopped of here at lunch to grab a…read morebite to eat and I was dying to try out the cider and the ginger beer. We ordered the Ploughman's share platter between 3 of us and it was enough. It came with cold sliced meats like salami & ham, chargrilled chorizo, cheese, rocket salad and toasted ciabatta with a spicy tomato relish. The ginger beer is delish!!! Not as sweet as you would expect from a non-alcoholic ginger beer as it has wheaty overtones, but it was one of the best I've tried. And on a warm summers day it went down a treat. Can't wait to go back and stock out on more of the ginger beer. And try out more of the menu items. They all sounded mouthwatering.

Check out the ginger beer and the 50/50!!! An awesome winery/brewery!! This place is great to check…read moreout while on a wine trip or just with a few mates (don't volunteer to drive!!) on any day. While the tasting area is quite small and you will only get 5/6 at the counter we have crammed 20 ppl in before! The staff are very friendly and will tall you all about the wines and brews on offer. The highlight is when you get to the Ginger beer though....it really is something else!! You can buy both wines and the brews by the bottle to take away....of take a sit and admire the views with a pint of Ginger ale from the ice cold tap...or even a glass of wine!! Unfortunately i have never tasted the food here but i have seen dishes bought out and it looks mighty fine.... its on my list!!

Dudley and Irina are first class wine makers and viticulturists. Their wines are delicious with…read moresome unique varietals I've never tasted before, namely their Grillo, a must try! We also spent all night in one of their three hotel rooms, extremely pleasurable, it's obvious they thought of everything to ensure our stay was memorable. Highly recommend a tasting, an over night stay, and purchasing a case to take home to enjoy with family and friends.

We've had Inkwell Wines on our "go to list" (for over two years) since trying a bottle at the…read moreBuilders Arms in Melbourne. As soon as we landed in Adelaide we made the call to arrange a time to visit. To our disappointment we found out there was no cellar door - what would we do?! We called Dudley and after a lovely conversation, we had locked in a time to visit the winery for a special tasting. Dudley and Irina were more than accommodating. Upon arrival, we were taken through the packaging sheds where we met the Irina who was meticulously labelling Black and Blue Fortified Zinfandel ready to supply to the ever so famous Fat Duck in London. We then moved onto another shed where we tasted a range of wines from the playful Dub Style brand to the Deeper Well Shiraz - all so delicious! We're always looking for an experience, something that money can't buy .... and we found it. You can't buy Dudley and Irina's passion, their love for wine, their commitment to their fans to produce not only quality wine but to spend the time sharing their knowledge. We wish our new wine friends all the best and recommend Inkwell Wines to the world - such beautiful wines made by two genuine, forward-thinking and passionate makers.