Hotel California Road at Inkwell Wines: Why stay in Tatachilla, South Australia?
Inkwell Wines in Tatachilla, South Australia, makes organically and biologically-farmed wines. This McLaren Vale winemaker also offers the Hotel California Road – luxury accommodation made out of shipping containers.
The Inkwell winery in Tatachilla, South Australia is a small scale place, where hand-pruning the vines wins out over machines. Dudley and Irina Santiago Brown, Inkwell Wines’ owners, like to do things sustainably. Indeed, Irina has a PhD in sustainability in viticulture, and is a world-renowned expert on the topic. Everything at this Tatachilla winery, therefore, is farmed organically and biologically.
Meanwhile, wildlife appearing amongst the vines is regarded as part of the natural order at this Tatachilla winery. Come on in kangaroos – you’re not seen as a pest.
Hotel California Road shipping container accommodation
The sustainable philosophy also applies to Inkwell Wines’ latest venture – an on-site, but off-the-grid, tasting room and a micro hotel. The Hotel California Road has only three rooms, and lives inside 20 shipping containers.
It would be reasonable to expect this to be fairly basic, but it is the complete opposite. That means twin showers, a free-standing bath and supremely comfortable mattresses. Oh, and a wooden terrace outside each suite where you can watch the sun go down over the vines.
Inkwell is in the McLaren Vale, which is indisputably one of the world’s great wine regions. About 45 minutes’ drive south of Adelaide at the top of the Fleurieu Peninsula, it’s where Thomas Hardy kicked off the South Australian wine industry. The global big-hitter Hardy’s is based a smidge north of what’s technically the McLaren Vale region, in the suburb of Reynella, but it has gained an awful lot of company since.
Vineyards dominate the land south of the Onkaparinga River National Park, and most of them are growing the top-drawer shirazes. These are the wines that have given the region global fame.
Inkwell Wines sparkling viognier in Tatachilla
The most remarkable wine at the Inkwell winery, however, is a sparkling viognier in a can. This really shouldn’t work, but it does – it’s beautifully fruity, incredibly refreshing and genuinely surprising. It’s the sort of drink that’s perfect for about 4pm on a hot summer’s afternoon. Inkwell has got something here – and if expanded and marketed it could go big. But Dudley’s not particularly interested. He didn’t move to the McLaren Vale to run a big business. “Before I had vines, I had employees,” he says with a knowing smile.
Other quirky McLaren Vale wineries include d’Arenberg, home to the psychedelic d’Arenberg Cube. Also worth a look are Mitolo Wines, Serafino Wines, the Woodstock winery and Maxwell Wines. Visit them after a morning at one of the fine Fleurieu Peninsula beaches, such as Sellicks Beach.
More Australian wine regions
The Swan Valley near Perth.
Underrated wine regions in Australia.
Taste pinot noir on a sheep farm at the Milton Vineyard in Swansea, Tasmania.
The Italian influence of the King Valley, Victoria.