Hugh Hamilton Wines: What does this McLaren Vale cellar door do differently?

Hugh Hamilton Wines in the McLaren Vale, South Australia, doesn’t offer free tastings. But it does offer guided, structured tastings at its architecturally impressive cellar door – some of which include chocolate pairings.

The wineries of the McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide in South Australia, are famous for making world class shirazes. But several offer an excellent visitor experience, too.

Hugh Hamilton Wines is one of the top options in the McLaren Vale. It’s very close to other wineries, such as Wirra Wirra, Mitolo and Primo Estate. This makes Hugh Hamilton Wines easy to add to a self-guided wine tour.

Tastings at Hugh Hamilton Wines

Unlike many winery cellar doors in Australia, Hugh Hamilton Wines doesn’t offer free tastings. They’re charged, and structured. But, crucially, tasting fees are refunded on purchase of a bottle.

The entry level tasting goes through the Flock range. These include the Rascal, a classic powerful shiraz, and the Floozie, a sangiovese rosé. The Flock range tasting at Hugh Hamilton Wines costs $10.

Premium wine tasting at Hugh Hamilton Wines

There are also several premium tasting experiences. These include the $20 Black Blood tasting. This goes through three single vineyard shirazes, and pairs them with chocolates from Kokopod.

Splash out more, and you’ll get limited wines picked out specially by Hugh and Mary Hamilton.

The tastings at Hugh Hamilton Wines have more thought put into them than the majority of Australian wine tastings. But that’s not the only reason to visit.

Hugh Hamilton Wines cellar door

The Hugh Hamilton cellar door is visually marvellous. It’s an elevated, circular building, designed to give 270 degree wrap-around views of the vineyards. The winery also uses tactile props, smelling jars and videos to round out the tasting experience.

Other McLaren Vale wineries worth visiting include Inkwell, with its shipping container hotel, and the Woodstock Winery, which has its own wildlife sanctuary. Also worth a look in the McLaren Vale, before you head south to the Fleurieu Peninsula, are d’Arenberg, Maxwell, Chapel Hill, Serafino, Beach Road Wines and Fox Creek.