The question of the absent hill doesn’t seem to bother anyone at Penny’s Hill, just off the main road linking McLaren Vale and the historic village of Willunga. Or maybe the road’s gentle incline is the hill? Hmmm… But forget the nomenclature: everybody’s here to try some fine Penny’s Hill wine, the quality of which is beyond question.
The winery has expanded since its first vintages in the early 1990s, buying-up pastoral leases and wine blocks around ‘Ingleburne’, a handsome two-storey stone homestead from pre-20th century days. Ambitious, sure – but why not, when the dirt underfoot (sandy loam over clay) is so conducive to growing grapes. Shiraz and grenache are the leading lights here—but winemaker Alexia Roberts also knows a thing or two about wine from the adjacent Adelaide Hills. Tapping into the Hills’ altitude, chilly nights and valley mists, cool-climate sauvignon blanc from Kuitpo and chardonnay from a Piccadilly Valley holding broaden the tasting experience at the Penny’s Hill cellar door. Such a shame the restaurant has closed!
