South Australia’s wine scene never really sits still, and this summer proves it.
From heartfelt passion projects in McLaren Vale to breezy barn conversions in Aldinga and hillside hideaways in Lenswood, a fresh wave of cellar doors and distillery spaces are throwing open their doors just in time for long lunches and lazy weekend tastings.
Whether it’s a New York-to-wine-country love story, a collective of cult-favourite natural producers, or a coastal spirits sanctuary worth the gravel-road detour, these new openings are giving us every excuse to plan our next swirl, sip and stay-a-while.
As If Wines Cellar Door
True passion for viticulture, persistence, and a New York to McLaren Vale love story are the catalysts for the new cellar door of wine label As If Wines. The new McLaren Flat cellar door welcomed its first guests late last year.
Run by winemaking and life partners Alie Shaper and Tim Brunato, the cellar door invites guests to taste the full As If Wines range while learning the stories behind each bottle. According to Alie, “As a cellar door, we are what you would expect. The difference,” she says, “is really in our story.”
As If Wines Cellar Door
Where: 72 Ingoldby Road, McLaren Flat
When: Seven days, 10am – 5pm
For more info, click here.
Under the Sun
Under the Sun Wine Collective officially opened Friday, 6 February, inside an old barn on Old Coach Road in Aldinga, bringing together Poppelvej, Brash Higgins and Golden Child Wines under one shared roof. Organic, gradual, and built on friendship, it’s the kind of collaboration that makes immediate sense once you hear how it came about.
Across labels, pét-nats, rosé, whites, orange wines and a generous spread of reds are available, making it an ideal stop for the curious or indecisive or anyone keen to build a mixed case rather than commit to a single style.
Under the Sun Wine Collective
Where: 22 Old Coach Rd, Aldinga, South Australia
When: Set to open Friday 6 February
For more info, click here.
Jauma Farm Cellar Door
On 40 acres of hillside land, between the cherry orchards and vines of Peramangk Country, something beautiful has been quietly taking shape. A once-farm cottage has been transformed into the new Jauma Farm Cellar Door, and it’s opening just in time for summer.
James and Sophie Erskine – farmers, winemakers, community-builders – have long championed natural wine in South Australia. Their Living Jauma wines, made from organically grown grapes in McLaren Vale and crafted in the Hills without additives, fining or filtration, have a cult-like following. Since taking over the land in 2018, the pair have fostered a thriving community, culminating each year at their Jaumafest, the family-friendly cherry celebration of fruit picking, live music, kids running wild, and straight vibes.
Jauma Farm Cellar Door
When: Opening weekend (19-21 December) 12pm-5pm, Saturdays 12pm-5pm thereafter
Where: 677 Mawson Rd, Lenswood
For more info, click here.
Coffin Bay Spirits
Although this distillery may have opened a little before summer, it still deserves a mention in this list for its exclusive location. There’s no sign pointing you there. By the time you reach the end of the gravel road, most visitors are already wondering if they’ve taken a wrong turn.
Then the limestone cliffs open to a view over the Coffin Bay National Park, so breathtaking you wonder how there aren’t crowds of people waving their phones in the air. You’ve arrived at one of South Australia’s most elusive distilleries, sitting along five hundred acres of basically untouched coastline. The kind of place you’ll never find by accident, but wish you did.
Coffin Bay Spirits isn’t chasing visitors. Founders and Ben and Caro are natives of the region, but never set out to run a traditional cellar door. In fact, they built their coastal distillery almost by accident.
To find out more, click here.
Storytellers Distillery cellar door
It’s been a long road to recovery after a fire destroyed its Brompton cellar door, but this sunlit new chapter with “world-class cocktails” is the story’s happily ever after. When the distillery’s Brompton cellar door, Long Story Short, opened in 2021, it quietly cemented Storytellers as one of Adelaide’s most thoughtful small-batch spirits producers. Then came the cliff-hanger. In late 2023, a fire on a neighbouring property tore through the site, destroying the space and abruptly severing the brand’s physical home.
Now, the story resumes – this time in McLaren Vale – with a new tasting room and gin bar housed inside the McLaren Vale Visitor Centre, and led by one of the most respected figures in Australian hospitality.
Storytellers Distillery cellar door and gin bar
Where: McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Coast Visitor Centre, 796 Main Rd, McLaren Vale
When: Mon to Fri 11am-4:30pm, weekends 10am-3:30pm
For more info, click here.
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