Wine minus the wankery…read more That's what I tell people when they ask me what I thought of BoB. Organically grown grapes, 3 farm dogs and a cottage cellar door that I want snuggle up in with a nanna rug and a bottle of their Puritan Shiraz. Lou and Bozzie are a couple well seasoned winos. You can tell they love every ounce of what they do, are totally au fait with wine wankery and choose to ignore it and instead serve up bottles of organic whites, reds and a new rose and moscato under the Battle of Bosworth and Spring Seeds brands. This cellar door must have one of the best views in Willunga and if you are lucky enough to get a day when Lou is working you'll get to know every in and out of the region, their wines and what they do. It's small though so don't plan to bring your hoard of 40 on a hens day here. BoB is a treat and I can tell he and I are going to hold a close acquaintance in the future.

We have been buying the Spring Seeds organic and preservative-free wines for quite a while now, but…read moredidn't realise that it was produced here, at Battle Of Bosworth in Willunga! This is such a beautiful location - from the tree-lined street on the way in, the ruin out the front, to the gorgeous cellar door itself - this is a truly wonderful place. Jock and Louise are very passionate, knowledgable and charismatic, and really made the visit an even better experience. The three gorgeous winery dogs didn't hurt either! We ended up buying a couple of bottles of Battle Of Bosworth wines, as we haven't tried anything under that label before. We will definitely be back to sample and purchase more, that's for sure!

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.

Follow the signs to Ducks In A Row and you'll soon see why this is the McLaren Vale cellar door…read moreworth the go! Not only do you feel like you are walking into someone's home and backyard, you actually are. Roger, the resident Golden Retriever and apparent assistant wine-maker will come up and give you a warm, sloppy welcome on arrival. And of course a cellar door experience wouldn't be worth it without the wine tasting part! Stand underneath a vine covered verandah quaffing and having a chin wag with Amanda and Glen (the winemaker himself) about their unusual varieties of wines for Australia. Italian grapes like Mataro, Fiano and Vermentino are used to create wines that will impress your friends at BBQ's and dinners in the future. Like the Roses commercial, if you're asked not to bring a thing, a Ducks In A Row wine will help you say "we spent some money on this," and "we are a quirky and hip couple" who now knows what a Fiano grape tastes like - of course darling! Amanda and Glen open their cellar door when they are not busy (which is quite often) so it is worth a phone call before making the 40 minute drive. Also keep a look out for their pop-up events they run too, including a Vintage Celebration during vintage which had a vintage clothes pop up at it or their afternoon of Elbow Room popup stall and wine tastings. It makes for a perfect day trip!

I AM IN LOVE WITH EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS PLACE!!!…read more At first our little group were worried that we were lost, or about to enter the scene of our own personal version of Wolf Creek as we entered a dry paddock, but the lovely Amanda came out to greet us and show us the way and we soon stepped in to an oasis - her own back yard! We were also greeted by Roger, the friendly Golden Retriever whom we all wanted to take home with us! Ducks in a row is open by appointment only and our group of 24 were very lucky to be told all about some wonderful wines by Amanda and Glen while we nibbled on our own picnic lunch - which we brought, but the team helped by providing some utensils we forgot - so thanks guys!!! The wines pleased everyone in our group - and there were some real wine snobs amongst us! Many a bottle was purchased over the course of the visit and I'll be recommending Ducks in Row - the wine and the winery to all my friends!

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.

Hither & Yon is the passion-project of two local McLaren Vale brothers. Producing grapes for others…read morehas transitioned to holding back some fruit to express the flavour of the grape & it's vineyard in a minimal intervention winemaking style. The tasting room is in a gorgeous heritage building and has been tastefully renovated with a country style. When tasting you are invited to sit at the communal table and sample from Melbourne based Plumm glassware. The Cab Sauv on tasting has dark red fruit and minty eucalypt on the nose, and a long dry grippy finish. The Tempranillo has bright red fruit, cranberries, on the nose and a light savoury finish - it would be great with a meal. Easily accessed on High St Willunga it is a little too tempting after a mornjng's shopping at the Willunga Farmers Market

As if you needed ANOTHER reason to visit Willunga! What an…read moreamazing little place! Well, not so little as it goes! We were greeted by the H&Y crew as we entered a gorgeous old building which apparently used to be a butcher shop! Malcolm and Richard were our hosts who greeted us with a smile and a table filled to the brim with tasting 'apparatus', namely 4 glasses, each filled with a little sample; an empty glass to make our own blend; a couple of handily placed 'spittoons' for the errr.... 'unwanted wine'; a scattering of measuring jugs in case we wanted to get fastidious with our measurements and a heap of encouragement to boot! Much fun was had experimenting with different blends of Merlot and Shiraz etc,enabling us to come up with the perfect blend to suit no-one's palate but our own! Although I didn't participate in this activity (as I was too busy trying out the pizzas at the back of the shop in 'Pizza Kneads'), I did join in some of the tastings and was deeply impressed by the nuance of flavours and blends attainable from a simple bit of trial and error! Another awesome venue in what's rapidly becoming my fave little SA town! We were intending on coming back to Willunga to spend a Saturday wandering around the markets and sampling the local fare - I feel that a week wouldn't now be long enough!

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!!

Penny Dreadful! My…read morefriends and I went to Penny Winery as part of the Spring Affair. Unfortunately, this Winery was the first stop for the day (bad start). When we got there, we were really disappointed with how unprepared this Winery was for hundreds of people. Firstly, they had ONE wine booth only. 150 people immediately lined up, and there was no way that I was waiting in line (in the rain) behind 150 people for a glass of wine. There were nowhere near enough tables and chairs, so we had to just stand in a bare paddock with no wine and no seat. The forecast of the cold day was known for over a week; yet there were no heaters, no rugs, and no undercover tents prepared for customers. There was a photo booth van available but you had to pay for your photo to be taken. We had already spent $70 on the ticket and with the amount that they were charging for wine (e.g. double the price that Cellar Door charges for their wine) we expected at least some free entertainment. Everyone we met at Penny Winery hated being there and wanted to leave. We actually heard women in the portaloo toilets saying they wanted to stay in the toilets for the remaining hour because it was warmer and more entertaining. 30 minutes in, we asked to leave but weren't allowed to leave the paddock. We weren't allowed to go inside the Winery and do any wine tasting. We were told if we went to the bus to wait, our ticket for the rest of the Wineries would be voided. I don't understand how I was able to spend money at this place. It was uncomfortable, no wine tasting, and the only place to buy a glass of wine had 150 people lined up. It was the only Winery I have ever been to where I have not actually spent any money. We ended up getting permission from the girl in charge to leave, and we waited on the bus for 40 minutes until we got to leave the premises. After this Winery, everyone celebrated when we got to leave for Paxton. Paxton was very prepared. Paxton had lots of food, lots of access to purchase wine (therefore shorter lines), cheaper wine, 2 x DJ's, a dance floor with loud music and heaps of people dancing, many undercover areas, free photos etc. The vibe of Paxton was amazing. We had left a freezing, uncomfortable and boring paddock at Pennys Winery for a warm and fun Paxton Winery with good vibes. Everyone at Paxton was saying that their biggest regret was not leaving Penny earlier. And we felt bad for anyone who had to end their day at Penny. Our last Winery was Coriole Winery which was also amazing. They had a tent prepared for an undercover dance floor, heaps of food and wine, live music etc. Both Paxton and Coriole Wineries showed how unprepared Penny was. Wineries cannot help the Weather, but they can help how prepared they are to ensure that their customers are comfortable, or at the very least entertained. Paxton and Coriole proved that this is not a hard task to do. They used their profits for the day wisely and as a result, we spent a lot of money at their Wineries. Happy + comfortable = $. I hope that next time if Penny absolutely has to participate in the Spring Affair that they are better prepared.

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.

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!!