Woodstock winery, McLaren Vale: Wine-tasting with a wildlife sanctuary
The Woodstock winery in the McLaren Vale offers cellar door wine tasting, but it also has a wildlife sanctuary with rescued kangaroos and koalas.
The Woodstock winery is one of several in the McLaren Vale, South Australia, that do wine tasting a bit differently. Based in McLaren Flat, a short drive south of Adelaide, the Woodstock winery has an on-site wildlife sanctuary.
The Woodstock Wine Estate wildlife sanctuary began in 2007 when winemaker Scott Collett decided to conserve around three hectares of natural scrub. The rest of the land could be used for vineyards, but this space was given over to native animals.
Kangaroos at Woodstock winery, McLaren Vale
The Woodstock wildlife sanctuary started with red-necked wallabies and swamp wallabies. But in 2013, they were joined by five rescued western grey kangaroos. There’s also a hyper-friendly emu called maverick, while rescued koalas can often be found sleeping in the gum trees.
It’s possible to meet the animals at the Woodstock wildlife sanctuary at a feeding session every day at 11.30am. The feeding session costs $5.
Should you be more interested in the wines, then the Woodstock Wine Estate in McLaren Flat also operates a cellar door.
Unlike many wineries in Australia, Woodstock Wines charges for wine tasting sessions. These take place in the Stocks Tasting Room and cost $10.
Woodstock winery Stocks shiraz
The name Woodstock comes from Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England. It’s the village attached to Blenheim Palace, birthplace and former home of Winston Churchill. There is a replica of the wooden stocks from Woodstock (hence the name) at the winery.
The Woodstock winery’s signature wine, the Stocks shiraz, is named in honour of the stocks. This single vineyard shiraz is exclusively made from 31 rows of vines on the property.
Woodstock Wine Estate varietals
Other varietals planted at the Woodstock Wine Estate include grenache, riesling, semillon, montepulciano and chardonnay.
While in the area, other quirky McLaren Vale wineries to visit include Mitolo Wines, Serafino, d’Arenberg, Inkwell and Maxwell Wines. You can visit on the drive from Adelaide to Cape Jervis down the Fleurieu Peninsula.
More South Australia travel
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