WINE REGIONS Archives - ALMANAK MAGAZINE

VISIT > Samuel’s Gorge, McLaren Vale SA

Samuel’s Gorge is one of McLaren Vale’s most atmospheric red-wine addresses, a rustic 1850s farm shed perched above the Onkaparinga gorge with views that feel painted into the label itself. This is a cellar door for people who like their Grenache wild‑haired and characterful, poured by a team who clearly live the wines they’re talking…

ByCrispinApril 14, 20260Comments

VISIT > AUSTRALIA VISIT > McLaren Vale VISIT > SA

VISIT > KAY BROTHERS, McLaren Vale South Australia

Kay Brothers is a heritage-rich, red‑focused McLaren Vale address where old vines, traditional winemaking and elevated vineyard views come together in one of the region’s most characterful cellar doors. VARIETALS > Kay Brothers is, at heart, a Shiraz house, with the variety accounting for the majority of production and underpinning the flagship Block 6 and…

ByCrispinApril 5, 20260Comments

VISIT > AUSTRALIA VISIT > McLaren Vale VISIT > SA

VISIT > BATTLE OF BOSWORTH, McLaren Vale SA

Battle of Bosworth is one of McLaren Vale’s most characterful cellar doors: organically farmed, family-run, and set in a restored 1850s chaff shed and stables with sweeping vineyard views to Gulf St Vincent, it combines serious wine credentials with a relaxed, regionally grounded setting. VARIETALS > Battle of Bosworth is best known for Shiraz and…

ByCrispinMarch 25, 20260Comments

VISIT > AUSTRALIA VISIT > McLaren Vale VISIT > SA

VISIT > PRIMO ESTATE, McLaren Vale SA

Step through the glass doors at Primo Estate and the first thing you notice is the light: refracted off pale stone, softened by timber, framed by rows of vines that run towards the Willunga foothills. It feels more like a contemporary Italian villa than a conventional Australian cellar door – an architectural expression of the…

ByCrispinMarch 24, 20260Comments

VISIT > AUSTRALIA VISIT > McLaren Vale VISIT > SA

VISIT > D’Arenberg, McLaren Vale SA

Founded in 1912, D’Arenberg is family created a winery that has become synonymous with the McLaren Vale region, today many of the visitors are just as familiar with the architectural cube museum and the restaurant. I grew up in the McLaren Vale region and D’Arenberg winery was part of my childhood, my mother worked…

ByCrispinMarch 24, 20260Comments

VISIT > AUSTRALIA VISIT > McLaren Vale VISIT > SA

VISIT > PAXTON WINERY, McLaren Vale SA

Paxton’s cellar door at historic Landcross Farm makes a strong first impression: biodynamic vines rolling down to the valley, a repurposed 1850s shearing shed, and a quietly confident organic ethos that runs from the soil to the glass. This is McLaren Vale in a slower, more grounded key – relaxed lawns, build-your-own platters, and a…

ByCrispinMarch 23, 20260Comments

VISIT > AUSTRALIA VISIT > McLaren Vale VISIT > SA

VISIT > CHALK HILL WINES, McLaren Vale SA

Nestled into the slope above McLaren Vale with a long, low view across vines to the ranges, Chalk Hill feels less like a single cellar door and more like a small, well‑edited village built around wine, gin, and golden hour. APPEARANCE > Nestled into the slope above McLaren Vale with a long, low view across…

ByCrispinMarch 22, 20260Comments

VISIT > Yarra Valley

VISIT > Wantirna Estate

Wantirna is a suburb at the edge of Melbourne's sprawling metropolis. As you drive out towards the Dandenong Ranges, one moment it is traffic lights and shopping strips, the next quiet country streets and then it is the idyllic 10 acres that make up Wantirna Estate. Set amongst the golf courses and nature reserves that…

ByEd ItorJune 28, 20240Comments

VISIT > Yarra Valley

VISIT > Giant Steps Vineyard

Giant Steps was founded by Phil Sexton in 1997 he had come across from Margaret River in Western Australia in search of somewhere to grow and make outstanding Burgundy varietals of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. He the first site near Gruyere planting the Sexton vineyard on the steep slopes of the Warramate Ranges. Being a…

ByEd ItorJune 21, 20240Comments

VISIT > Yarra Valley

VISIT > Wantirna Estate

REGION: YARRA VALLEY VARIETALS: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc OPEN HOURS: Only once a year for mailing list subscribers, usualy a weekend in October WINE TASTING: Yes RESTAURANT: No WINE MAKER: Maryann Egan Wantirna is a suburb at the edge of Melbourne's sprawling metropolis. As you drive out towards the Dandenong Ranges, one…

ByEd ItorJune 21, 20240Comments