The number of visitors to the region is set to soar later this year with Penola, the only town in the region, having close links with Mary MacKillop, who is scheduled to become canonised as Australia’s first saint on October 17. The Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre in Penola is the region’s major drawcard, along with the many cellar doors.
Coonawarra, though, has plenty to offer throughout the year thanks to a series of annual food and wine festivals that include the Coonawarra Vignerons Race Day festival each January, After Dark, held each April, the Cellar Dwellers events in June and the Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations every October.
Some of the biggest names in wine are to be found here: Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Bowen Estate, Hollick, Yalumba The Menzies and Brand’s Laira. Add family-owned operations like Rymill, Redman, Zema Estate, S Kidman, Majella, Patrick and Koonara, add great red producers like Katnook Estate, Leconfield, Balnaves and Parker Coonawarra Estate, and any serious wine lover will be in his or her element.
A glass or two of the 2008 Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon should be enough to convert any doubters.
Penola has a population of 1200 and Coonawarra is home to just a couple of hundred people – but this is no sleepy backwater. There are close to 30 cellar doors and several spots to eat and drink, including the new Terra Rossa Wine Club in Penola, which serves local wines and tapas and has built a strong following in just 12 months, and a couple of good local pubs.
On the main street is the Koonara cellar door, which also sells kitchen goods and homewares, as well as local produce. It doesn’t get any more country than this.
Even better, many of the cellar doors are manned by winemakers, such as Greg Clayfield at Zema Estate, or members of the family whose name is on the label.
At Fodder, a popular Coonawarra café that serves superb pizzas, you’ll be served by former Rymill winemaker John Innes, or his wife Melissa, both of whom are hugely enthusiastic about the region and its wines.
Looking for fine dining in a small rural town can often be a thankless task, but not in Penola, where Pipers of Penola is run by chef Simon Bowen, a member of one of the region’s most famous winemaking families, and his wife Erika. Both formerly worked at the Lake House in Daylesford and have created one of the best restaurants in regional Australia. Wild rabbit and mushroom pithiviers served with shallot purée are a triumph, as is roasted duck breast with shitake mushrooms and truffle dressing. www.pipersofpenola.com.au.
Just down the road is Upstairs At Hollick, which has long been regarded as one of Australia‘s best winery restaurants. Sample dishes featuring local produce, including daily specials, like crispy skinned local pork belly and artichoke purée, which are accompanied by wines from a list of local and imported bottles. Diners can enjoy vineyard views or look in on the winery through a glass wall. www.hollick.com/upstairs.
Must@Coonawarra, Merlot and Verdelho Townhouses, Punters Vineyard Retreat, Yalumba The Menzies Retreat, the Alexander Cameron Motel and Chardonnay Lodge all offer accommodation in and around the vines – and there are also several excellent self-catering cottages from which to choose for those who want to spend a few days enjoying the atmosphere of one of the country’s friendliest wine regions.
