If you follow the twists of Pedler Creek out the back of McLaren Vale, heading east, you’ll come to the rather deflatingly named little town of McLaren Flat. But what do grape vines know about town boundaries? The soil, sun and soakage here are just the same as down the road in the McLaren Vale – minus the traffic, tourists and tractors.
If you’ve made the effort to get here, Woodstock does its best to hold onto you, with a cellar door (tastings $10), wine bar, restaurant, wildlife park and accommodation. Woodstock wines follow suit, covering plenty of bases to please the masses—from sparkling white, riesling and rosé to the mandatory shiraz, finishing off with a sticky selection of muscat, tawny and sundry fortifieds. Offset the liquids with some solids at the Coterie Kitchen, open from Friday to Sunday for lunch, serving grazing platters, nibble plates and crispy German flammekueche flatbread (don’t ask, just enjoy). Book ahead for everything.
