July 31, 2024

Winter wine wander in McLaren Vale

Chiara Di AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC, TRAVEL Adelaide, Girls Trip, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Wander, Wine 0 Comments

This year’s annual girl’s trip with some of my longest friends, took us on a wine weekend to South Australia.

Friends for 25 years and now living in various cities and at different stages of life, we all met up in Adelaide and headed for McLaren Vale via Hahndorf. We had planned for the scenic coastal route but we arrived on a rather rainy winter’s day.

In Hahndorf we walked the main street stopping into The German Village Shop where I bought another ornament for my tree, of course. We then warmed up with mulled wine, pretzels and a traditional German tasting platter (think bratwurst, pork hock, mashed potato, sauerkraut) by the cosy fire at Hahndorf Inn.

We continued onwards to our lovely cottage home in the heart of McLaren Vale. It was a beautifully renovated Airbnb named Olive and Oak featuring four bedrooms, a lovely living area with a fireplace, and outdoor hot tub which we had high ambitions of using but it was too wintery. It made for a perfect night in by the fire with a few bottles of red, reminiscing and catching up on all from the last little while.

It was nice to wake up to a clearing sky the next morning as we prepared for a day of wine tastings. Lucky for us, Em works in the wine industry and mapped out our day. We made good decisions by having a hearty breakfast at Sam I Am before starting our first tasting at 10.30am.

We visited d’Arenberg, famed for it’s rubik’s cube shaped cellar door and interesting artistic flair throughout. One level had a restaurant, another a Dalí exhibition and the top floor was the cellar door where we had our pre-booked tasting overlooking the region.

Next up was Coriole Vineyards, one of the longer established wineries in the region since the 60s. It had a cosy cellar door surrounded by a beautiful garden and a restaurant onsite. There were no pre-bookings here.

Alpha Box & Dice was a bit fun, modern and creative with a wine dedicated to each letter of the alphabet. This tasting was pre-booked with a gorgeous grazing board of charcuterie, cheese, warmed olives and a crispy salted butter toast. We received seven tastings here and overstayed our schedule but we were all enjoying the moment and it turned out to be everyone’s favourite stop of the day.

Our final stop was the Salopian Inn for a late lunch. There were too many delicious treats to choose from that we decided on sharing and indulged in the signature dumplings, local scallops and whiting, fried polenta and lamb ragu cavatelli with some rosé. There was a cellar door downstairs, where if red was your drink of choice, you could go down and select your own bottle to dine with.

The following morning, we made our journey back to Adelaide as three of the girls were flying out that afternoon. We tried to take the coastal route again managing one stop at Sellicks Beach along the Fleurieu Peninsula but it was still blowing a gale so we continued on a more direct journey to Adelaide.

Em and I were staying an extra night so after check-in we spent the afternoon on a bit of a city wine tour. It all started with some Adelaide Hills pinot noir at 2KW Bar, a city rooftop bar, where I also caught up with a local friend. Then we were onto Leigh Street Luggage, a European-inspired wine bar where we enjoyed another pinot and some Sicilian olives. Then to a newer venue Longplay Bistro, known for its wine and record playing, for a grenache and some deliciously fresh Coffin Bay oysters – I know not the best pairing but the wine was chosen first.

Our night ended with dinner at the institution that is Osteria Oggi for some fresh pasta. The piazza style restaurant was abuzz, with groups of friends and special occasions. We were looked after for wine by the sommelier and shared the beef carpaccio, wood-grilled squid (sensational), rye pappardelle and blue swimmer crab tagliatelle. It’s safe to say we were very full by the end of this gastronomical day in Adelaide. The long walk back to our hotel was exactly what we needed.

We had a lazy final morning before check-out and then made our way to Glenelg by tram. It was a quick walk to the jetty (still windy and so much seaweed) and then we settled in for brunch at fourth bar where we enjoyed one final meal before fly out – I had their amazing Thai crispy beef salad!

And that’s a wrap on girls trip 2.0; now to think about where 2025 will take us.

But in the meantime, next up for me is another girl’s trip to the sunny shores of Fiji.

Until then…

LWL xxx