My McLaren Vale

12/11/2024

05/11/2024

First day off in a while and wanted a pizza and cocktail while organising life and work so off to and cocktails along with pizza and mozzarella sticks 🍕🍹
Refreshed and ready to go again ☺️

01/11/2024

An awesome weekend to be in Willunga with the on this Saturday and The Mad Dash (The Bendigo Community Bank Fleurieu Mad Dash) on Sunday in the main street.

With almost a dozen producers at the beer festival there will be plenty to try along with some amazing local food businesses.

And if you missed the first Mad Dash make sure not to miss this Sunday. It's a family friendly, fun filled day with plenty of laughs, music and of course crazy looking Billy carts.

Get out and enjoy the great weather and the terrific events we have on this weekend ☺️

25/10/2024

A huge congratulations to all the winners of the 2024 McLaren Vale wine show. It was another terrific celebration of some awesome winemakers and the amazing community of McLaren Vale.

11/10/2024

🚨 New Cellar Door Alert 🚨

Brett, who makes In Praise of Shadows wines, has been going for a few years and is now open to the public for private tastings.

Located just behind Bekkers wines, Brett has a terrific range of wines that are balanced and well made and many locals might have seen Vox Pop sparkling around. He's also one of the most friendly guys I've ever met.

Get in touch to organise a tasting and you will not be disappointed 😊

09/10/2024

Starting in cellar door and ending up in the winery. As always a great tasting with Tim at with a focus on Grenache of course 😊

03/10/2024

Last Sunday Brie and I went to a great event at Varney Wines who were hosting Thistledown and Willunga 100 wines with personal platters provided by Pilar of Salt Catering.

It's an awesome, casual way to try some wines, by a glass or bottle and hang out in the sun with your favourite loved one(s).

They are doing it again this Sunday with Lauren Langfield Wines and Aphelion wines joining the fun.

Also keep an out for Varney Wines second Sunday sessions they will be doing in the spring and summer.

Get out and support local!

Willunga 100 McLaren Vale Business & Tourism Association McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Coast Visitor Centre .langfield

27/09/2024

This amazing human is leaving Samuels Gorge. He's Mikey. One of my favourite humans on this planet.

13/09/2024

If you're down in Victor Harbor this weekend come say hello at Raw Bulk Wholefoods from 10 am Saturday to try Leo's Chile Con Queso.

My Mexican grandfather, Leo Aguilar, came up with this recipe that we have made for decades, sold commercially in the US that I am now producing and selling in South Australia.

Stop by and give it a go and check out all the other amazing products at Raw.

See you on Saturday 😁

🧀 Attention, cheese lovers! 🧀

Leo's Chile Con Queso, an authentic Mexican cheese dip, is having its first-ever public tasting in Australia this Saturday at Raw Bulk Wholefoods in Victor Harbor!

Join us from 10 am to try this amazing and addictive family recipe that pairs perfectly with chips, veggies, burgers – you name it! Enjoy free tastings and grab a takeaway container to savor at home all weekend.

Don’t miss out on this cheesy debut – see you there! 🎉🌶

09/09/2024

WINE BOTTLES ARE 750 ml. WHY???
Wine bottles are, in general, 750 ml (75 cl) and not one liter (1,000 ml).

Where does this exception come from?

The capacity of a bottle of wine was standardized in the 19th century and then the most extravagant explanations for this fact were born, which corresponded to:

— The lung capacity of a glassmaker;

— The average consumption during a meal;

— The best capacity to preserve the wine;

— An ease of transport...

— None of the above.

It is simply a practical organization with a historical basis:

At the time, the main customers of French winemakers were the English. But they never adopted the same system of measurements as the French.

The English unit of volume was the "imperial gallon" which corresponded precisely to 4.54609 liters.

To simplify the calculations in the conversion, they transported Bordeaux wine in barrels of 225 liters, that is, precisely 50 gallons, corresponding to 300 bottles of 750 ml (75 centiliters).

Since the calculation was easier, they adopted that one barrel = 50 gallons = 300 bottles.

In this way, one gallon corresponded to 6 bottles.

In fact, this is why even today, cases of wine generally contain 6 or 12 bottles.

15/08/2024

Soooo looking forward to the Neat Sips Weekend coming up soon.

If you want help with some discounted tickets send me a message, I know a guy 😉

07/08/2024

If you need yet another reason to support your local businesses here it is.

It's a shame the government is making so hard for businesses to exist 😡

The tax has increased 75 times since its introduction in 1983.

05/08/2024

So which masterclass are you going to?

It's just a few weeks away from the inaugural Fortified Festival at McLaren Vale Distillery and we are so excited for what's on offer.

There are some very reasonable ($25+) masterclasses from some extremely rare fortifieds to going through Seppeltsfield abundance of history to a variety of cocktails ready for spring.

My wife and I are going cocktails masterclass, what about you?

McLaren Vale Wine Region

whether you’re looking to uncask rare gems, create cool cocktails or pair to perfection, we’ve got the masterclass for you. Price $25 per person + booking fee Times Saturday 24 August11.30am–12.15pm Host Mark Reginato, Connect Vines & Man of Spirit Details Join the Man of Spirit, Mark Reginato...

31/07/2024

This month's tourism event was focused on what made the Australian wine world and McLaren Vale well known, Shiraz.

It grows well all throughout Australia and last night we tried wines from the Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra and McLaren Vale to see these differences.

It was great to hear how they treat the vines differently in the vineyards and what they do in the winery to make the best wine possible.

Get out and support local and try all the great varieties we grow in this awesome region 😊

25/07/2024

What a beautiful start to the morning at 🌄

18/07/2024

Just in case you missed the opening of Aphelion's new cellar door last weekend, make sure to pop in this weekend and try out some gorgeous wines presented by lovely people.

There was plenty of local support last weekend and it will only get busier as their name gets out there.

They have a terrific range of wines, wonderful staff and a great array of products for their "do it yourself platters" including the great Andy Clappis bread.

Get out and support local 😁

10/07/2024

Get out and support local 😊

An awesome wine brand made by a really cool couple 😁

27/06/2024

"My wife and I booked Jon for a day tour when staying in the region for our wedding anniversary and he went above and beyond to give us a great day out and made us feel special. Even though we live close by and visit McLaren Vale regularly, Jon was able to show us some amazing places we'd never been to previously which helped us stock up Our wine rack!

Jon is super down to earth and relaxed which makes the day all the more comfortable and enjoyable, and when we asked him to help us buy platter food four our dinner he stopped at Foodland on the way back to our accommodation no questions asked.

If you're thinking of booking a private tour in the McLaren Vale region for a first time visit or veterans of the area then Jon should be #1 on your list!"

I'm very proud of all my 5 star reviews and I thoroughly enjoy showing people this amazing, versatile region we are lucky to live and work in.

I want my tours to be informative, fun, relaxing and flexible. I don't take life too seriously, love to have a laugh and I've worked in the wine industry for almost 20 years and love to share whatever bits of knowledge I've acquired. Combine that with growing up in a restaurant and working hospitality for decades I'd say it's a pretty good combination.

Get in touch about a day out and I'll custom make an itinerary for you showing off the best bits of McLaren Vale and we can have a laugh as well 😊