One Sunday earlier last year, I took to the Adelaide Hills in South Australia for the annual Crush Festival. What this festival entails is many of the wineries in the Adelaide Hills wine region opening their doors for the day. They put on an event with food, wine, music and good times, and you make your way from winery to winery, as you please, to join in the festivities. The event at every winery was different, with each one having their own own style and own talking point.
Originally I had planned to take the coach that departed from the city at 9.30am, which then met shuttle buses (booze buses, if you will) doing two different “loops” around a handful of the wineries, but when I called on the Thursday evening beforehand I had just missed out on the last tickets. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the journey was to be made in car, which meant I arrived in style and got to check out the best of the best wineries in the Adelaide Hills.
Winery 1: Pike & Joyce
It was a cold and windy start to the day. I arrived at my first stop, Pike & Joyce, right when it opened at 11am (don’t ever say I’m not eager!) Despite being the middle of summer, I had already made a last minute change from my festival fun sun dress into sensible trousers and a cardigan, and even with my change of clothes I was still freezing.
Aside from hating on the wind, I was disappointed to find out that the winery was not doing tastings during the festival. I mean, I can understand not operating like a usual celllar door and giving free tastings to every person that enters the door, but surely charging a modest amount per tasting would have covered the costs sufficiently?
Never mind. The good thing was that at 11am, I knew exactly what would make the perfect post-breakfast, pre-lunch glass of wine. A sparking pinot noir, of course. The sensible route would have been ordering individual glasses, but given that three glasses cost the same as the bottle, it turned out to be a bottle of bubbles to start the day. I guess I can think of worse things to happen.
Despite the wind (and the lack of wine tasting!) the views at Pike and Joyce are second to none, with a panoramic view of the valley and vineyards below. But as the winds and winter-like chills were too much for me I didn’t stay long, so I enjoyed my wine, skipped the food (although the seared scallops with prosciutto did get a second glance!) and moved on to the next destination.
Winery 2: Lobethal Road
I was lucky that I was with people who knew the Adelaide Hills wineries well, and knew exactly what wineries would be putting on a stellar show, but when I read the write up on the Crush Festival website, there was one winery that I requested we visit. There was one reason why – the word “oysters”. So the second stop on my journey around Crush Festival was none other than Lobethal Road.
I arrived at Lobethal Road to find something most unexpected sitting out the front of the winery – a stall selling small batch gin. If you follow my blog either here or on social media, you will know that I love two things in life. Wine and gin. So here I was, at a wine festival, with the prospect of drinking a small batch gin when it’s not even gone midday? Well, that happens to be my idea of a good time!
This 78 degrees gin from the Adelaide Hills Distillery was so new that it was literally the first batch ever made. It wasn’t even available in stores yet. Hell, even the website was not live at this point. Now that’s fresh. The gin was light and went down a little too easy. It was the kind of gin that would appeal to the non-gin drinker and go down great as a martini. I didn’t sign up for a presale (yes, it was still at pre-sale stage!) but in hindsight, perhaps I should’ve.
Inside the winery a local band were just starting to play, and I found myself a nice spot at a picnic bench in the sun, underneath the trellises. Gin and warmth all in one go? Things at Lobethal Road were already off to a good start for me.
The next task of the day was to check out the food. I guess at a winery it should have really been the wine, but after my cheeky gin tipple, I wanted to take things at a reasonably slow pace.
I knew that I would be getting stuck straight into those oysters that I’d seen mention in the brochure, but I didn’t realise exactly how amazing they would be. It turns out the fresh oysters were being served with a pomegranate and tomato dressing, and not only that, they were going for the very modest price of $20 for a dozen (at least modest by Australian standards).
While I sorted out the oysters, my friend was taking care of the wine. She was familiar with Lobethal Road and had previously warned me shared with me the delightful news that they have the best Chardonnay ever. That’s quite a big call, but I would soon find out for myself that this was most certainly the case.
When I like a Chardonnay, I like it, but I definitely wouldn’t call it my go to wine. But if every Chardonnay tasted liked the Lobethal Road Chardonnay, I could definitely turn Chardonnary into my go-to wine. The crisp freshness of this wine went perfectly with the oysters, and was the perfect accompaniment to a great moment in the courtyard.
Aside from the oysters, there were also sliders on the menu – with the option for a gluten free bun – so I decided that after the stellar performance put on by the oysters, it would be rude not to give the other food a crack.
There were two choices of sliders, chicken and shaved roast beef. I went for the chicken one, which came with avocado and and an amazing peri-peri sauce, and turned out to be the perfect “main course” to my impromptu meal at Lobethal Road Wines.
Winery 3: Barristers Block
After Lobethal Road I popped down to Barristers Block. This was definitely the biggest affair that I attended throughout the day, with the whole grounds covered with groups of friends and families lounging on chairs and picnic blankets, wine in hands and platters of food being passed around.
My first port of call was the bar, and I was pleased to find out that finally there was a winery actually doing wine tasting at a wine festival (who would’ve thought it would be so hard to come across?!) and for the small bargain price of $5. I was in.
The lovely Italian barman talked me through the wines with a good sense of humour, and I tried everything from a light, sparkling Sauvignon Blanc to a much heavier Shiraz, and I left suitably merry while thinking what bottle I should invest in next.
As it turned out, I left the bar decisions up to everyone else, so I decided to check out the food. I ended up getting a Mexican sharing platter for $18, though I am afraid to say that compared to what we had just previously eaten at Lobethal Road wines, the food was really poor.
I mean, it was edible. but it certiantly wasn’t anything to write home about, and $18 got us a small amount of dips, some olives, bread and corn chips. I did, however, end up with a bottle of sparkling sauvignon, which was enjoyed sitting out on the grass soaking up the rays and atmosphere, so this pleasantly distracted me from the substandard food.
By this time it was only around 2pm and I had already visited three wineries – which was the aim for the day. My mission was completed, so I decided to keep on going.
Winery 4: Bird in Hand
The next winery on the list was Bird in Hand, and after having sampled Bird in Hand’s wine at a restaurant only the day before, I was really excited to try this one on its home turf.
Bird in Hand was another real outdoor picnic style affair, with well dressed guys and gals and trendy looking families lounging around on picnic rugs and enjoying the sun, with faces of smiles and laughter. There may or may not have been selfie sticks involved.
There was no debate as to what to drink here – it would be a bottle of the same Bird and Hand Sparkling Pinot Noir that I had tried the day earlier, as it really is the perfect Sunday afternoon drinking wine. Out came the picnic rug to set up shop for an hour or so, joining the Sunday sun seekers. Basking in the afternoon sun, I couldn’t believe that only hours before I was freezing cold and wondering if this adventure was even a good idea.
Winery 5: Sidewood
The last stop of the day was Sidewood, by which time the crowd was big, loud and drunk. Here felt more like a Friday night at the pub, with crowds of people standing round and a cover band attending to the makeshift dancefloor (where I may or may not have been busting moves to Taylor Swift).
The food here wasn’t really a talking point either, and especially not for gluten free options, but this winery was all about the party and having a good time. Groups of guys settled into hitting golf balls off the top of the hill, and those not interested in golf stuck to the dance floor with a glass of wine in hand.
A little after 5.30pm I decided to call it a day, legs weary, belly filled with wine and food, and surprisingly, all the souvenir wine glasses still in tact. Discussing the highlights and favourite spots of the day, I had trouble choosing just one place, as every winery stood out for different reasons.
The Verdict?
Lobethal Road Wines: This was the best for food, and also the all around favourite, as it the food, wine and atmosphere were all great.
Bird in Hand & Barristers Block: These were definitely the best for atmosphere, both lending themselves to an afternoon of lounging in the sun and enjoying the finer things in life.
Pike Joyce, Lobethal Road and Bird in Hand: These were my favourites for wine, although if I had to choose just one, Pike and Joyce was a real surprise.
So that’s all about my day at Crush Festival 2015. Have you been before? Perhaps you’ve been to another food and wine event in this kind of style? Tell me all about it in the comments below!
Jolene Ejmont says
Any festival with wine in it is a good festival haha! We have a few festivals here in the Hinterland of the Sunshine Coast that is great too!