Wine, gin, pizza and a picnic rug
Sixth-generation vigneron Tom Harvey of Chalk Hill Wines has teamed with gin distiller Never Never and Tony Mitolo of Pizzateca fame to create a must-vist McLaren Vale experience.
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“The reveal is quite incredible,” says gin maker Sean Baxter of Never Never Distilling Co. “You head up the driveway, it hooks around, and then you’ve got this vast expanse of corrugated iron and lawn – it’s wonderful.”
For two long years, sixth-generation vigneron Tom Harvey pondered what he wanted to do to make the most of his hillside vineyard in McLaren Vale. The answer came in the form of a chance meeting with Sean Baxter and Tim Boast of Never Never.
“We quickly came to the realization we had a shared vision and we had a really clear understanding of what the customer wants,” Tom says, as he explains how his winery came to host a gin distillery and more.
“And it happened very quickly – over a handshake.”
That handshake has resulted in Chalk Hill Collective; two distinct spaces that share an Australian vernacular – corrugated iron, timber beams sourced from the old wool stores in Port Adelaide, and interiors by Adelaide architectural practice Genesin Studio who achieved 300-degree uninterrupted views across the vineyard all the way to Mt Lofty.
“The location is stunning,” says Tom. “It’s an Australian farmhouse look and a beautiful piece on landscape.”
Within each space – one wine, one gin – the tasting experience has been expanded and refined. Tom’s Chalk Hill wines will be offered in a 60-seat space as a flight or with varieties by the glass, all paired to a menu by Vera Pizza Oztalia (VPO), headed by Tony Mitolo of Pizzateca and Madre fame, who has joined the trio at Chalk Hill.
Tony will offer what he calls “Mediterranean street food”.
For its 80-seat tasting and dining space, Never Never has created “bright, forward, citrus-forward spritzes” that cut through the richness of a variety of different cheeses and complement the pizza and arancini offerings.
“But really pizza goes with everything, doesn’t it?” Sean says.
“We’re very excited to offer a different food experience to what we’re currently offering down the road at Pizzateca,” says Tony. “We’ll be featuring my nonna’s square-cut pizzas, porchetta and pastas.”
“McLaren Vale has more than 80 cellar doors and they offer a great range of tasting experiences, but we wanted to offer another facet to it and bring a deeper, more rewarding tasting experience,” Tom says.
“You can get a little bit nerdy about wine and gin,” adds Sean “but also if you just want to come up and enjoy a glass of wine or gin on the hill and take in the view you can do that as well.”
The Chalk Hill Collective space incorporates a large covered space that’s big enough for more than 150 people and half a hectare of lawn to spill out onto.
Picnic blankets will be supplied and the site is open to visitors to explore. Find a spot in the sun to relax in and Tom’s crew will come to you with wine. Or you might prefer gelati - VPO will also be making it on site.
“We’ll be launching with Meet the Maker distillery tours, production masterclasses for novices and enthusiasts, and of course gin flights,” says Sean. Visitors will be invited to tour the state-of-the-art distillery.
“We’ll have a tasting area in the production space – so it’ll be a great opportunity to immerse people in the story of what we do.”
But no visit will be complete without a taking in the cocktail bar. Never Never has pulled off quite a coup in luring Stewart Morrow over from Sydney. During Morrow’s time at The Baxter Inn in Sydney, the bar was awarded Australian Bar of the Year five times, the most recent just last year 2019.
“Our cocktails will be primarily focused on our location,” Sean explains. “So there will be a lot of ingredients that are sourced within a small footprint – drawing on the amazing local produce you can find down here.”
With Chalk Hill Collective, McLaren Vale’s renaissance continues.
Opens February 15, 56 Field St, McLaren Vale. Open daily, 11am to 6pm (Never Never will close Tuesdays) with extended summer trading hours until 10pm on Fridays.