Top tipples
When borders open in South Australia, Kangaroo Island – or KI as the locals call it – will be well and truly ready for visitors.
25 June 2020
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Often referred to as a zoo without fences, Kangaroo Island is a sanctuary for wildlife. Encounters with some of the friendly native animals are to be had at every corner – watch Sea Lions frolicking on the beach at Seal Bay Conservation Park, snorkel with dolphins, see kangaroos snoozing under trees and spot the koalas dozing in the eucalypts.
Other activities include sandboarding at Little Sahara sand dunes and, of course, tasting incredible wines from the Islander Estate Vineyards, Bay of Shoals Wines, and Dudley Wines, among others.
The Islander’s SoFar SoGood Shiraz is one of the best drops you can buy under $30 and Australia’s first boutique gin distillery KI Spirits offers tastings, or call into the KI Brewery for a beer.
SeaLink ferries are offering a range of packages that include taking your car over on the ferry for a self-drive stay, but you may just want to leave the car behind and spend a day tasting an exciting and diverse range of award-winning wines, beers, ciders, distilled spirits and liquors. And great news – most of the wines are vegan.
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Sumptuous and luxuriant, Kangaroo Island’s food and beverages are some of Australia’s finest gourmet pleasures and include some exceptional cellar doors.
North of Kingscote and with a killer view of the Bay of Shoals, this cellar door has some excellent rosés and late harvest rieslings. The vines are hand pruned and the grapes handpicked.
Relax on the deck and indulge in a platter of produce while tasting a drop from one of the island’s original wineries.
Jacques Lurton, a renowned Bordeaux winemaker, offers some French-style wines made in Australia. Located in Cygnet River, are we allowed to have a favourite? Definitely worth the trip.
Another deck. Another idyllic Australian setting. False Cape’s deck looks onto the terra rosa soils of limestone on the banks of the Wilson River flat. The vineyard is the largest on Kangaroo Island and offers a cellar door with minimal intervention wines.
Worth a detour
Prepare to be amazed and delight in Kangaroo Island’s award-winning wines, beers, ciders, distilled spirits and liquors.
- Hazyblur Wines produce shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, malbec, pinot noir and pinot gris planted in 2001.
- Lathami Wine planted shiraz vines in 2000, followed by southern Italian white variety fiano, planted in 2009.
- Snow Dragon Wines is a new label for a 25-year-old vineyard, formerly known as Cape d’Estaing. Premium red wines are made from grapes grown exclusively on Kangaroo Island.
- Kangaroo Island Spirits have six liqueurs, three vodkas and a premium gin.
- Kangaroo Island Ciders for alcoholic ciders and a non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice (cellar door at Emu Ridge Eucalyptus).
- Kangaroo Island Brewery offers KI craft beers while the Drunken Drone Brewery’s Honey Wheat Ale is available at Clifford’s Honey Farm.
Whether at one of the many restaurants, cafes, farm gates, cellar doors or a farmers market, Kangaroo Island provides both gastronomic and visual feasts at every beautiful turn.
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