First Look: $600,000 Seppeltsfield cellar door upgrade set to set up winery for the future

One of Australia’s oldest wineries is preparing for the future of wine tasting post-COVID as it releases plans for a new $600,000 cellar door upgrade.

Barossa Valley winery Seppeltsfield is planning a $600,000 upgrade to its cellar door. Picture: Supplied

One of Australia’s oldest wineries has released plans for a $600,000 cellar door upgrade in a bid to adapt to the post-COVID wine tasting world.

Historic Barossa Valley label Seppeltsfield will aim to overhaul an under-utilised trophy cellar below its existing spaces to accommodate new seated experiences for patrons

To help fund the project, the winery – which was founded in 1851 – has applied for a $180,000 grant through the State Government’s Tourism Industry Development Fund.

Concept designs of the proposed cellar door upgrade at Seppeltsfield. Picture: Supplied

Seppeltsfield head of tourism Nicole Hodgson said the proposed upgrade would tie in with a raft of new experiences for tourists, including vineyard tours.

The winery also plans to build a $50m, 12-storey hotel, which has drawn backlash from local residents and is yet to be approved.

Ms Hodgson said customers enjoyed seated tastings last year, which were mandatory as part of COVID-19 regulations.

“We were having to see less people because of those regulations, but while seated they were more engaged and ended up purchasing more, which made up for the shortfall,” Ms Hodgson said.

Concept designs of the proposed cellar door upgrade at Seppeltsfield. Picture: Supplied

“I can only assume people feel the experience is more personalised while seated, even though restrictions have eased, we’ve maintained seated tastings because of the positive response we’ve seen.

“Seated tasting venues require more space and if we’re going to keep going back and forth with COVID-19 restrictions, these upgrades would put us in a position where we wouldn’t have to worry about fitting people in.”

Image of the proposed new cellar door upgrade at Seppeltsfield. Picture supplied

The overall project, which would extend and fit-out the existing cellar door, would also include upgrades to Seppeltsfield’s functions and events capabilities.

“We have seen over the years that people are really hungry for full experiences when they come to a cellar door rather than just quick tastings at the bar and this project would enable that,” Ms Hodgson said.

On the back of adversities faced by the wine industry last year, Ms Hodgson said the grant scheme was an opportunity for Seppeltsfield and other cellar door operators to offer something new and encourage people back into the Barossa.

Barossa Valley winery Seppeltsfield is planning a $600,000 upgrade to add to its existing cellar door. Picture: Supplied

“Last year our visitation has been half of what it used to be, but we want to be ready for when the numbers come back with a really premium space,” she said.

In addition to the infrastructure, Ms Hodgson said a successful grant application would help Seppeltsfield become the first major Barossa winery to offer vineyard tours.

“We’re trying to stay on the front foot of practices in the Barossa and offer great experiences for guests,” she said.

If funding was approved, Seppeltsfield would aim to have the project completed by the end of this year.