Alkina Winery and Vineyard in Barossa Valley is something special

With two stunning tasting rooms, delicious food and on-site accommodation, this new Barossa Valley cellar door is your next must-do.

Accommodation at Alkina in Greenock. Picture: Matt Turner

A new Barossa Valley winery is digging deep to educate wine lovers about what goes on beneath the earth’s surface.

Since opening its tasting room doors in October 2020, Alkina Winery and Vineyard launched an offering of tailored experiences and tours. Each one provides insight into the western Barossa ranges estate’s ancient stones and soils and organic and biodynamic viticulture. The Rock Hammer Tasting and Tour, the Bedrock Experience and Alkina Ultimate Experience take visitors into the 160 soil pits dotted throughout the vineyards. It’s a geologist’s dream.

“The micro terroir project has enabled us to understand the farm in a way that someone who had farmed it for a for a long time would understand it,” says managing director

Amelia Nolan.

Barrel tastings, wine tasting flights, food, 4WD vineyard tours and on-site accommodation are also part of the offering.

Three wine flights (including an international wine flight) are also available for the more casual visit. “You can also just have a glass or bottle of wine or Champagne,” Ms Nolan says. “There’s also a pantry so if you want something more, you can grab a basket and a board and choose from the selection of bits and pieces we get from Bottega Rotolo and Lucia’s Fine Foods.”

Alkina cellar door in Greenock. Picture: Matt Turner

Vegan and vegetarian options and a list of non-alcoholic beverages are also available. “You have to look after the driver.”

Alkina tastings are held in the tasting room or sun-soaked courtyard, inspired by Ms Nolan’s international travels.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in South America where there always tends to be two wings on the side of the main house, and a courtyard in the middle.”

Europe was also an inspiration.

“When I moved to London in 2000, I met my husband to be and he and his parents were living in Bordeaux in a crumbling old Chateau in the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux. In Europe, everything is focused around the courtyard. I wanted it to feel protected. We also have a fabulous organic kitchen garden. All the herbs and produce used in the dishes come from there.”

Accommodation at Alkina in Greenock. Picture: Matt Turner

The tasting room is open from Friday to Monday. Since COVID, pre-booked seating tastings have become the norm but the team is focused on providing a relaxed vibe. “It doesn’t feel like a cellar door and it doesn’t feel like a bar. It’s somewhere in between – a casual space.”