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

WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Bar Lourinhã, Melbourne (17/20)

Bar Lourinhã has long stood as a beacon of Iberian warmth in Melbourne’s heart, its yellow shopfront glowing like a lantern on Little Collins Street. Step through the mosaic-tiled threshold and it’s as if the rush of the city fades — inside, there’s the hum of conversation, the clink of sherry glasses, and the lazy…

ByCrispinSeptember 25, 20250Comments

EAT > SA WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Pearl, Aldinga Beach (15/20)

Pearl is the kind of beachside restaurant that instantly feels like the South Australian coast in miniature—the salt in the breeze, surf in earshot, layered sunlight painting the tiles and timber. This is Aldinga Beach at its best: relaxed, elemental, a setting that delivers unvarnished Australian hospitality with chef-driven finesse. AMBIANCE > Set on Aldinga’s…

ByCrispinSeptember 21, 20250Comments