One Paddock Currency Creek Winery review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

One Paddock Winery has a charming rustic feel, and its main building is a renovated and spacious hybrid of an old dairy and a Port Adelaide wharf shed.

It’s a hot Saturday afternoon and by the time we pull up to the cellar door at One Paddock Currency Creek Winery, I’m ready to relax.

We’ve checked out a few cellar doors at McLaren Vale, gone boating, tested the Port Elliot Bakery, and now I’m keen to land on the couch inside one of the winery’s very comfortable villas I’ve spotted on the internet.

And hosts Tim and Rachel Henderson are especially pleased to see me since I’ve managed to give a wrong phone number on my booking, and they are ready to head off for the night. But not before they’ve provided a very warm welcome, a complimentary bottle of wine, and some advice on the best local eateries.

Since we’re only 6km from Goolwa (even though we definitely feel we’re in the bush), it wouldn’t be far back into town to try one of them.

But we would rather kick our shoes off, and when Tim – a chef – offers to whip up a tasting platter there’s a definitive “yes”.

One Paddock Winery has a charming rustic feel, and its main building is a renovated and spacious hybrid of an old dairy and a Port Adelaide wharf shed apparently shifted there in the 1960s. It has a cellar door with vines on one side and, on the other, a slope of freshly mown green lawn that eventually gives way to the scrub and grasslands that lead down to one of the local creeks.

The villa at One Paddock Currency Creek Winery.

The couple don’t make wine, but their grapes are made into Currency Creek Estate by Shaw Family vintners and they showcase that. Their main business is weddings and functions.

Across the road are the villas, renovated when they bought the property in 2015, and it’s a top quality blend. Inside are fashionable furnishings, a stylish bathroom, and a well-stocked and functional kitchen while a small veranda and armchairs outside let you sit and read in a bush setting. Just watch those bull ants though.

Provisions for a delicious breakfast are in the fridge already: yoghurt, muesli, locally-made bread with jams, fruit, and bottles of fresh milk and orange juice. As well there’s a Nespresso coffee maker, Twinings teas and a few extra bottles of wine for purchase if you’re especially thirsty.

The villas have a luxury feel – the colours are dark grey with gold highlights, with a big bed, and a comfy couch near the TV. Internet is limited but mobile phone reception works fine.

The bathroom is large with quality fittings, with the highlight the hard-to-leave rain shower. There’s a choice of airconditioning or an overhead fan.

While there was a massive doona, perfect for cold weather, on this warm night I wouldn’t have minded the option of a lighter blanket as well.

As promised, Tim’s tasting platter, which cost $42, turned up at about 5.30pm, and it was worth a picture. My stomach rumbles thinking about it – four or five different cheeses, cold meats, olives, a super pesto, tiny gherkins, a range of dips … it tasted as good as it looked.

The next morning, being a Sunday, we set no alarm, but there was one ready to go anyway: a kookaburra gave full throat to his laughing song in a gum tree outside the window. But it wasn’t too early, and anyway, it was a reminder that after we’d polished off the platter it was almost time to tackle the breakfast provisions waiting in the fridge.

Reviews are unannounced and paid for by SAWeekend.

This review was first published in April 2017 and had details updated in March 2021.

• 291 Winery Rd, Currency Creek
• 8555 4069
• www.onepaddockcurrencycreekwinery.com.au

• LOCATION 81km southeast of Adelaide; 6km north of Goolwa.
• ACCOMMODATION Six villas, maximum two people each.
• FACILITIES Queen bed, duck down pillows and quilt, ensuite, kitchen with Nespresso coffee maker, private courtyard and veranda, reverse-cycle airconditioning, remote ceiling fans, limited internet, TV. Light breakfast provisions of local produce provided.
• PRICE $220 a night, package rates for longer stays.