McLaren Vale vineyards.
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One of the beauties of Adelaide is its proximity to the Gulf of St Vincent coast and the Mount Lofty Ranges. In less than an hour, you can be immersed in the winding roads of the Adelaide Hills or the verdant vineyards of McLaren Vale.
1 Adelaide Hills
Drive 25 minutes east from Adelaide along a tree-lined freeway and you'll enter a bucolic landscape of winding roads, quaint villages and rolling vineyards.
The township of Hahndorf, Australia's oldest surviving German settlement, still has a continental flavour, with heritage architecture, smallgoods stores and German bakeries lining its main street. Hans Heysen, who lived at Hahndorf, is one of many artists to have taken inspiration from this region. Take a guided tour of Heysen's home and studio, The Cedars, and follow a walking trail through the property to his favourite painting locations.
Food and wine are the main drawcards in the Adelaide Hills today and increasingly the two experiences are intertwined. The diverse topography, combined with the climate, creates distinctive wine styles, from classic pinot noir and chardonnay varieties (in the coolest areas) to riesling and pinot gris in warmer locations, and even cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and merlot.
Petaluma's Bridgewater Mill presents fine-dining elegance within its cellar-door tasting areas. Chef Le Tu Thai creates dishes such as duck breast with braised pork belly, Chinese cabbage, bean curd skin, enoki and star anise.
Shaw and Smith's sleek, architect-designed winery is set amid rolling vineyards at Balhannah. Semi-guided tastings (40ml pours of five wines) cost $14 a person and include a cheese plate from local producers.
Hahndorf Hill Winery offers more than wine tasting: its ChocoVino experience matches luxurious chocolates with Hahndorf Hill's elegant cool-climate wines.
Orchards, market gardens and artisan producers - from cheesemakers to olive oil producers - abound in the Hills. At Harris Smokehouse in Hahndorf, the fourth generation of the same family use traditional English curing and smoking techniques to produce delectable seafood, from mackerel and kippers to South Australian yellowtail kingfish. Also in Hahndorf, Udder Delights offers tastings of its goat's cheeses at its own cellar door.
Regular farmers' markets are held in villages throughout the Hills and The Organic Market and Café in Stirling sells much of the local fare under one roof. Gather together a fabulous lunch and head to the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden for a picnic among the massed magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias and roses.
THE DIRECTORY
Adelaide Hills Wine Guide adelaidehillswine.com.au
Petaluma Cellar and Bridgewater Mill Restaurant, Mount Barker Road, Bridgewater, (08) 8339 9200; bridgewatermill.com.au
Shaw and Smith Winery, Jones Road, Balhannah, (08) 8398 0500; shawandsmith.com
Hahndorf Hill Winery Lot 10, Pains Road, Hahndorf, (08) 8388 7512; hahndorfhillwinery.com.au
Harris Smokehouse 37 Main Street, Hahndorf, (08) 8388 7000; harrissmokehouse.com.au
Udder Delights Cheese Cellar 91A Main Road, Hahndorf, (08) 8388 1588; udderdelights.com.au
The Organic Market and Café 5 Druids Road, Stirling, (08) 8339 4835; organicmarket.com.au
Mount Lofty Botanic Garden Summit Road or Piccadilly Road, Crafers, (08) 8370 8370; botanicgardens.sa.gov.au
2 McLaren Vale, Fleurieu Peninsula
With superb food and wine, a gentle maritime climate and the splendour of vineyards and pastures meeting sparkling coastal waters, McLaren Vale, an easy
30-minute freeway drive south of Adelaide, embodies South Australia's hedonistic lifestyle. Despite the suburban sprawl creeping to the fringes of the district, this is most definitely wine country, with more than 50 cellar doors and 80 producing wineries, many of them championing grape varieties beyond the region's celebrated shiraz and cabernet sauvignon.
The Italian accent of pioneer migrant growers is celebrated in luscious sangiovese produced at Chapel Hill and Coriole (which also produces nebbiolo and fiano). Nearby, Samuel's Gorge makes a deliciously savoury tempranillo and intense old-vine grenache.
Beyond the vines, a vibrant community of chefs has placed Fleurieu Peninsula produce on a pedestal, to create what is arguably the best regional dining destination in Australia. Leading the way is David Swain at Fino in Willunga. There's a similar philosophy at the vineyard restaurants at Penny's Hill Winery and d'Arenberg, and at regional stalwart The Salopian Inn. Perched on the sand cliffs overlooking Gulf St Vincent is the iconic Star of Greece, named after a ship that was wrecked on the coast below in 1888. It's a colourful, old-style beach cafe serving seasonal, contemporary food.
You can get your hands on much of the outstanding regional produce at the Willunga Farmers' Market, where the cobblestone town square is transformed into a colourful avenue of tents each Saturday morning, with 60 stallholders selling local specialities including Jersey milk, olives and Australia's finest almonds.
Get a taste of the artisan producers' skills by booking into a hands-on workshop at Producers of McLaren Vale. Learn how to make fresh cheese - mozzarella, haloumi and ricotta - or the intricacies of disgorge and dosage in a sparkling wine workshop, where you'll make your own bubbles.
THE DIRECTORY
Chapel Haill Winery
Cnr Chapel Hill and Chaffeys roads, McLaren Vale, (08) 8323 8429; chapelhillwine.com.au
Coriole Vineyards, Chaffeys Road, McLaren Vale, (08) 8323 8305; coriole.com
Samuel's Gorge, Lot 10 Chaffeys Road, McLaren Vale, (08) 8323 8651; gorge.com.au
Fino, 8 Hill Street, Willunga, (08) 8556 4488; fino.net.au
Salopian Inn, McMurtrie Road, McLaren Vale, (08) 8323 8769; mvbeer.com
d'Arenberg Winery, Osborn Road, McLaren Vale, (08) 8329 4888; darenberg.com.au
Penny's Hill Winery, Main Road, McLaren Vale, (08) 8556 4000; pennyshill.com.au
Star of Greece, 1 The Esplanade, Port Willunga, (08) 8557 7420; starofgreececafe.com.au
Willunga Farmers' Market, (08) 8323 0000; willungafarmersmarket.com
Producers of McLaren Vale, Branson Road, McLaren Vale, (08) 8323 0060; producers.net.au
This article published with support from the South Australian Tourism Commission.
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